How The Dark Slayer Stole Christmas
by boop-oop-ee-doo
Summary: To explain to Sophie what a Grinch is, Faith tells her a modified version of the classic tale, featuring an All-Scooby cast! Based on the live-action 'Grinch' movie
1. Prologue: The Town Of Scoobville

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'The Grinch'.

AN: I saw some Christmas decorations in store today, and since this fic might take a while to finish, I figured I'd start it now. Enjoy!

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><p>"Geez, they really do put out the Christmas decorations earlier every year" said Faith with a frown, lifting Sophie off her shoulders as they arrived home after a trip to the Mall."<p>

"But Auntie Faith, I thought you liked Christmas" said Sophie, licking the ice-cream cone her aunt had bought her.

"I do, now that I've got you and Auntie Buffy and all the other Scoobs to share it with" said Faith. "But once upon a time, I used to be a real Grinch."

"What's a Grinch?" asked Sophie, confused.

"What's a Grinch?" repeated Faith in disbelief, before chuckling. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Sophie had only been able to really be a kid for two years. She grinned, getting an idea. "Tell ya what, Little Red" she said, sitting down and gesturing for her niece to climb into her lap, "I'll tell you a story about somebody who was a Grinch, and you can learn from that. You're even in it!"

"I am?" said Sophie excitedly.

"Yeah. So is everybody else, but you're the most important. So, wanna hear it?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Okay, how did it start again? Hmm.. Got it" Faith nodded. "Inside a snowflake, like the one on your sleeve, there happened a story you must see to believe.."

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><p><em>Way up in the Mountains,<em>

_In the range of Pontoos,_

_Lay the small town of Scoobville,_

_Home of the Scoobs._

The little town was bustling with activity, with everybody excitedly decorating their houses with lights and tinsel. It was almost time for Christmas, Scoobville's favourite holiday.

_Ask any Scoob,_

_And they'll have this to say.._

_"There's no place like Scoobville around Christmas Day!"_

_Every window was flocked,_

_Every lamp-post was dressed,_

_And the Scoobville band marched in their Christmas-y best._

In the centre of town, the band roamed the streets singing Carols, while all the stores were packed with Scoobs doing their Christmas shopping.

_Arbor Day was fine, _

_And Easter was pleasant,_

_And every St. Patrick's Day they ate some fine pheasant,_

_But every Scoob knew from their toes to their snout,_

_They loved Christmas the most, _

_Without a single Scoob doubt._

In one particularly packed store, Willow Rosenberg, a young woman with flaming red hair, was buying presents for her family. She held her youngest daughter, Lily, in one arm, while looking over the list she held in her other hand.

"Let's see, we've got a Luke Skywalker action figure for Andrew, Han Solo for Jonathan, a muncle for your Uncle, a fant for your Aunt, and a fandpa.. for your cousin, Jesse. Now we need.." Willow paused, realising something was missing. "Sophie?" she called, looking around for her eldest daughter. "Sophie, where are you?"

"Sale on Aisle 3!" a Cashier yelled.

"Sophie, this isn't funny young lady!" Willow cried, pushing through the crowd. "Sophie!"

"I'm over here, Mommy Willow!"

Willow let out a sigh of relief, spotting a small pair of legs underneath a huge stack of presents.

"Sorry Sweetie, guess I did load you up a little too much, huh?" She stuffed the list in her pocket and took some of the presents in her free arm, revealing the slightly annoyed face of Sophie, her red-haired, blue eyed five year old.

"Uh-huh. Mommy Willow, don't you think this is a bit much?" the little girl frowned.

"Come on, Sophie" Willow chuckled. "This is what Christmas is all about, right?"

"One minute closer to Christmas!" yelled a man operating a huge Christmas Countdown clock nearby. There was a collective gasp from the customers, who began rushing around even faster.

"Oh wow! We've still got lot's to do, better keep moving!" As Willow disappeared into the crowd of shoppers once again, Sophie followed her, sighing.

_Yes,_

_Every Scoob down in Scoobville loved Christmas a lot!_

Meanwhile, inside a cave high in a mountain outside town, a dark-haired young woman looked through a periscope, glaring at the four figures currently heading up the slope.

_But Faith,_

_The Dark Slayer,_

_Who lived just outside Scoobville,_

_Did not.._

Two of the figures were Jonathan and Andrew, Willow's two nerdy cousins for whom she had been buying presents. The other two were their friends, a pair of potential Slayers named Vi and Amanda. The group had been sent to collect sprigs of mistletoe to hang up around town.

"Come on guys" chuckled Vi, racing ahead. "Everyone knows that the best ones are higher up!"

"Last one there's a smelly old Dark Slayer!" Amanda laughed, running after her friend.

"Hey!" cried Jonathan, chasing them.

"No fair!" whined Andrew, already struggling to keep up. "You got a headstart!" As they climbed higher, the boys began to get nervous.

"Ugh, Guys?" Jonathan frowned, "Not to be a party pooper or anything, but maybe we should go back before we get into trouble."

"Yeah" added Andrew nervously. "You know who lives up here, right?"

"Oh, we get it" Vi smirked. "You guys are scared of the Dark Slayer!"

"Are not!" cried the boys in unison.

"I heard that she lives in a cave up here" said Amanda, grinning, "And when she gets mad, she comes down and flays people alive!"

"No she doesn't" Jonathan frowned. "That's what happens if anybody gets Willow mad enough."

"Then what does the Dark Slayer do?" asked Vi, as she and Amanda headed further up and the boys reluctantly followed.

"Nobody knows!" aid Andrew in an ominous tone. "It's so terrible that no-one's ever had the stomach to record it!" At that moment, the girls, walking a short distance ahead, froze. They had stumbled upon a cave with a crude makeshift door, surrounded by signs with messages such as 'Get lost if you want to keep your limbs'. It was the home of Faith, the very person they had been discussing.

"Want to prove you're not scared of the Dark Slayer?" asked Vi as Jonathan and Andrew caught up. "Go touch her door. Just touch it."

"I don't know.." Jonathan frowned.

"We don't want to be rude" Andrew chuckled nervously.

"Scaredy Cats, Scaredy Cats!" Vi and Amanda taunted.

"We're not!"

"Prove it!"

Andrew and Jonathan looked at each other, nodded, and slowly crept towards the door. As they reached out towards it, however, what appeared to be a primitive, savage woman leapt out, snarling and growling at them. The two nerds screamed like girls, then bolted back the way they had come, dragging the also terrified Vi and Amanda with them.

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><p>"That wasn't very nice Auntie Faith" Sophie frowned.<p> 


	2. A Heart Two Sizes Too Small

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'The Grinch'.

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><p>"It's just a story, Little Red" Faith chuckled.<p>

"Oh yeah.. Sorry" said Sophie sheepishly.

"No problem kiddo. Anyway, it turned out that the savage woman was just a model of the First Slayer, and the sounds it was making came from Faith's dog, Echo, growling into a horn inside the cave.."

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><p>"Good work, Echo" said Faith, scratching him behind the ears. The dog was the only living creature that the Dark Slayer could tolerate. "That'll show those yuletide-loving, sickly sweet, nog-sucking cheer mongers! Damn I hate them, they're all such jerks!" She paused, getting an idea. "Echo, get my cloak." The dog ran off to obey his master's command. "I'm sick of those crazy Scoobville kids and their so-called innocent victimless pranks! They want to get to know me? Want to spend sometime with the Dark Slayer?" Echo returned with a long black cloak, which Faith took and put on. "Well, okay then" she grinned wickedly. "I could use the social interaction."<p>

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><p>Soon after Faith's dark, cloaked form could be seen roaming the streets of Scoobville, with the hood pulled up high, and a vampire mask to hide her identity. Echo padded along beside her. The Scoobs, being a trusting lot for the most part, were not at all suspicious.<p>

"Merry Christmas!" greeted a woman named Fred as she peddled by on a bike.

"Merry Christmas to you too, ho ho ho and all that shi-

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><p>"Auntie Faith!"<p>

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><p>-ning light and joy and all that other Christmas-y stuff" said The Dark Slayer in a fake, high pitched voice.<p>

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><p>"That's better" said Sophie with an approving nod.<p>

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><p>As Faith glared at the girl she had been forced to say 'Merry Christmas' to, Fred crashed her bike into a car, breaking it's handlebars.<p>

"Oh, that poor girl!" said Faith in mock sympathy, before whispering to Echo in her real voice, "See boy? This town is a dangerous place!"

_Faith hated Christmas,_

_The whole Christmas season._

"Have a nice day!" called Xander Harris, the Chief of the Scoobville Police.

"You too!" said Faith, waiting until he was out of earshot, before muttering "Pig."

_Now please don't ask why,_

_No-one quite knows the reason._

"Hey kids, I've got an early Christmas present for ya!" cried the Dark Slayer, handing out very sharp stakes to some passing children. Make sure you run really fast with those, okay?"

_It could be that her head wasn't screwed on just right,_

_Or it could be, perhaps,_

_That her shoes were too tight._

Faith walked leisurely across a busy road, not caring that she was blocking off traffic.

_But I think that the most likely reason of all,_

_Is that her heart was two sizes too small._

Faith finally reached the other side of the street, only to be stopped by a dodgy salesman named Ethan.

"Hey, pal" he grinned, hooking Faith with a cane, "I won't let you go 'til you buy a chapeau!" Faith scowled beneath her mask, punching Ethan in the face and leaving him unconscious in the snow before moving on. Because nobody liked Ethan, they didn't find this suspicious either.

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><p>Meanwhile, Willow and her daughters were heading back to their car with their purchases.<p>

"Christmas has always been my favourite time of year" Willow grinned. "Nothing beats it, huh?"

"Ya!" baby Lily giggled.

"I guess" Sophie sighed. "But.."

"But what?"

"Well, you, and Mama Tara, and everybody else get caught up in all the presents, and decorations.." Sophie siged again. "Sometimes I worry that we've all forgotted what Christmas is really about." Before Willow had time to ponder her daughter's words, her attention was quickly drawn elsewhere.

"Willow!" Jonathan called.

"Willow!" Andrew echoed. Willow turned to see her terrified, snow-covered cousins and their friends.

"What the hell happened to you guys?" she frowned.

"It was the Dark Slayer!" the boys cried in unison. Every Scoob in the immediate vicinity froze, gasping in horror. Well, all except one.

"You called?" said Faith, looking around at the sound of the name, until someone gave her a strange look, and she remembered where she was. "I mean, the Dark Slayer? Dear me!"

"Who mentioned the Dark Slayer?" came an annoyed voice, as an important looking young man with light brown hair emerged from a nearby building. Faith rolled her eyes and groaned. The young man was Riley Finn, the recently elected Mayor of Scoobville, and he and Faith had been bitter enemies since childhood.. but more on that later.

"Hi, Mayor Riley" said Willow sheepishly as he approached, with his assistant, Graham, tailing him, carrying a very heavy looking book that Riley did not go anywhere without. "Nice weather we're having, huh?"

"Willow, lets be frank" said Riley with a frown, pulling her aside. "You know as well as I do that this Christmas begins the 1000th Scoobilation."

"One of the most important events in the History of Scoobville" added Graham.

"And as the book of Scoob says.." Riley clicked his fingers, and Graham flipped the book open to the appropriate page before handing it over. "It says and I quote, 'Every Scoob we can measure, knows that Scoobilation is a time we must treasure'." He closed the book and handed it back to Graham. "Now Willow, please, tell me that your cousins didn't go to the top of Mt. Lilbit and annoy the only person within a million miles of here who hates Christmas!"

"Of course not!" Willow chuckled nervously.

"But Willow.." Jonathan began, before she clapped a hand over his mouth.

"They were just making a crazy excuse for why they didn't come back with the mistletoe like they were supposed to."

"But.." said Andrew, only for Willow to set Lily down beside Sophie and cover his mouth too.

"Give it up Andrew, you've been caught out" she said, trying to keep the nervousness from her voice. Riley narrowed his eyes in suspicion for a moment, then nodded, turning his attention to the people. Willow breathed a sigh of relief.

"Just a false alarm folks" Riley announced. "No Dark Slayers to worry about here!" The Scoobs relaxed and continued to go about their business. But, as Riley headed back towards his Office, he was hit in the back of the head with something. He reached back, disgusted to find a spitball in his hair. He looked around for the culprit, but found no likely suspects. Faith had already disappeared back into the crowd, chuckling to herself.

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><p>At this point in the story, Sophie collapsed into a fit of laughter. She had never liked Riley.<p> 


	3. Maybe She's Not So Bad

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'The Grinch'.

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><p>"Like that part Little Red?"<p>

"Uh-huh!" Sophie nodded eagerly. "What happened next?"

"Well, after her morning session of Christmas shopping, Willow had to go work her shift at the local Post Office, and since most of the work environments in Scoobville were fairly relaxed, she dropped baby Lily back home, but took Sophie with her.."

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><p>"I need this there by tomorrow!" shouted a man named Wesley, thrusting a package into Willow's hands.<p>

"You got it, Wes" said Willow, stamping the package with a label reading 'Heckuva Rush'. "Merry Christmas!"

Meanwhile, since the earlier incident outside the store, Sophie had been deep in thought.

"Mommy Willow" she asked, after Wesley had left, "How come everybody changes the subject whenever the Dark Slayer gets mentioned?"

"Well, uh.." Willow began, feeling uncomfortable. "The Dark Slayer is.. She is.. Hey, you haven't said what you want for Christmas yet!"

"Mommy Willow!" said Sophie, annoyed. "Now you're doing it!"

"Why do you want to know about the Dark Slayer all of a sudden anyway?"

"I just do" said Sophie, crossing her arms. "One time Mama Tara said that she's not as bad as everyone thinks she is."

"Sophie, your Mama Tara is a very kind, compassionate woman, and usually that's a good thing. But when it comes to the Dark Slayer.."

"What's her name?"

"Huh?"

"Mama Tara said it feels like everyone forgotted the Dark Slayer's real name" said Sophie. "What is it?"

"Faith" Willow relented, though making a mental note to speak to her Wife later about broaching dangerous subjects with their children. "The Dark Slayer's name is Faith."

"Why is everybody so scared of her?"

"She was always.. a little different."

"Diferent how?"

"Well for one thing, she's the only Scoob in the History of Scoobville to hate Christmas! Just look at this" said Willow with a frown, turning to the little cubbies that held the mail of each Scoobville resident, and pointed to the one belonging to Faith, which was empty and overrun with cobwebs. "Not a single Christmas card in or out, ever!"

"But _why _does she hate Christmas?" asked Sophie with a frown. "There gots to be a reason!" Unfortunately, before Willow could reply, all hell began to break loose.

"I got the wrong mail!" shouted an unpleasant man named Snyder.

"Same here!" said an annoying young woman named Harmony. They weren't the only ones with problems, and soon, the Post Office was bursting with complaining customers.

"Willow, we have a big problem here!" Willow's panicked co-worker, Clem, called from the front desk.

"I'll be right there. Don't worry, we'll get this mess sorted out!"

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><p>Unbeknownst to them, the chaos had been caused by Faith, who had managed to sneak into the Sorting room, and was messing around with the mail, having it sent to the wrong people.<p>

"This is his, now it's yours!" Faith grinned, switching two letters. "This is hers, and now it's his! And for the rest of you.." she grabbed a pile of envelopes and began flinging them into the mail slots like ninja stars. "Jury duty, Jury duty, pink slip, blackmail, chain letter, eviction notice.."

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><p>Meanwhile out front, things were only getting worse.<p>

"Sophie, can you take this package out back to the Sorting room for me?" Willow asked a little desperately.

"Okay, Mommy Willow" Sophie replied.

"Thanks sweetie, you're a great little helper" said Willow, rushing back to the front desk. "Just try not to fall into the sorting machine, okay?"

"I won't!"

* * *

><p>Hearing footsteps approaching, Faith used her Slayerly athletic skills to maneuver herself and Echo up into the rafters, and just hoped like hell that whoever was coming in didn't look up. She frowned down at the red-haired five year old who entered. Where the hell were that kid's parents? She shouldn't be wandering around on her own.<p>

Sophie picked up the vampire mask that the Dark Slayer had accidently left behind on the floor, but didn't think much of it. Faith thought she was home free, until Echo sneezed.

"Bless you" said Faith without thinking. Sophie looked up and screamed. "God damn it!" Faith muttered to herself, before leaping down from the rafters with Echo and glaring at the little girl.

"You're the Da-da-da.." Sophie stuttered, taking a few steps backwards.

"Da-da-da" Faith mocked, as Sophie continued to back away. "Dark Slayer!" At her final growl, Sophie took another frightened step backwards, but, having been unable to see where she was going, toppled into a shoot leading into the package-stamping section of the Sorting Machine, screaming. "Well, that was easy" Faith smirked.

"Help!" Sophie cried.

"Sorry kid, got places to go, trouble to cause.."

"Help, please!" at Sophie's second cry, a stamp completely crushed a fragile package inside the machine where the little girl would soon be headed, and the Dark Slayer faltered.

"You know, it's her parent's own fault she's in this mess" Faith reasoned to herself. "Come on Echo, let's go.." Echo, for once defying his Master, latched his jaws onto the bottom of her pants, and growled. "Echo, what are you doin'? Let go!"

"Help me, please! I'm scared!"

"Oh for the love of.. Fine!" Faith snapped. She marched over to the machine, pulled Sophie out by her collar, feeling relief for a nano-second that she was unharmed, and set her on the ground, before snatching the vampire mask from her hands. "I'll take that! What were you thinkin', takin things that arent yours? You some kind of animal?"

"N-No" Sophie stuttered, staring up at Faith with wide eyes. For a moment, the Dark Slayer thought that this kid kind of reminded her of somebody who, years ago, she kind of cared about.. She shook her head, and turned to leave. "Thanks for saving me" said Sophie, with a small smile. Faith looked back, eyes narrowed.

"You thought I was savin' you? You got the wrong end of the stick, kid." She grabbed a pile of wrapping-paper and ribbon from nearby. "I just realised you weren't properly packaged.."

* * *

><p>Willow realised that her daughter was taking a long time, so headed off to see what had happened to her.<p>

"Sophie?" she called, frowning. She received a muffled reply, and followed it to a Sophie-shaped present. Willow chuckled as she began to unwrap her.

"Mommy Willow, you'll never believes what.." Sophie began.

"You were practicing your Christmas wrapping, weren't you?" said Willow, hugging her daughter. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Yeah, that's it" Sophie sighed.

_The little girl just didn't know what to do, _

_In Sophie's head tumbled a conflict or two:_

_'If Faith is so bad, why did she save me?'_

_Maybe she wasn't so bad,_

_Maybe, just maybe.._

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><p>"You're not bad Auntie Faith!" Sophie giggled. "You're not bad at all!"<p> 


	4. Crazy Lights

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'The Grinch'.

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><p>"Glad you think so" Faith smiled, giving the little girl a hug. "Got any idea what a Grinch is yet?"<p>

"Uh-uh" Sophie nodded. "A Grinch is somebody who hates Christmas."

"Got it in one, Little Red" Faith smirked. "I guess you won't be needin' to hear the rest of the story then.."

"But I want to hear it, Auntie Faith!" Sophie cried. "Please tell me the rest of the story, please?"

"Okay.."

* * *

><p>When Willow and Sophie arrived home, they found Lily in her playpen on the snow covered lawn, apparently alone.<p>

"Hey, Lil" Willow frowned as she scooped her daughter into her arms. "Where's your Mama Tara?"

"Tawa up!" Lily cooed, pointing to the roof. Sure enough, Tara was perched up there, setting up their Christmas lights.

"Oh hey, you're back!" she called happily, waving down at her wife and eldest daughter. "I'm so happy. This is it, this is the year it will happen! When the people are asked who has the best Christmas lights in all of Scoobville, they're going to call out 'Mrs. Tara Rosenberg!'"

""Isn't that the chandelier from the dining room?" asked Willow, confused as she squinted at part of the display.

"All for the cause, Sweetie."

"I see" Willow smirked.

"Speaking of which, we might be living by candlelight for a while" said Tara sheepishly. "Oh, Sophie, can you go grab the lightbulb out of the refrigerator for me? I missed it somehow."

"Sometimes, my Mommies are real crazy" Sophie sighed to herself as she headed inside.

"I can't wait!" Tara grinned. "Every year, Buffy Summers wins the best lights.."

"Tara" Willow frowned, "You know the only reason you've got such a problem with her is because you think she.."

"Don't ruin my moment, Will" Tara frowned back.

"Sorry. Go on."

"This year I'm going to beat that perfect, prissy little.."

"Hi Willow, hi Tara!"

"Hi, Buffy" Tara grumbled as her pretty blonde neighbour emerged.

"Hi, Buffy" Willow smiled, as, unlike her wife, she actually saw Buffy as a friend.

"Your lights look great this year" said Buffy, observing Tara's work.

"Thank you" said Tara a little huffily.

"It's amazing what my girl can do when she puts her mind to it" Willow chuckled.

"Oh, you just have to see what I got at the store to day, it's amazing!" said Buffy as she pulled out something that looked like a rocket launcher, and promptly began using it to fire lights in a a perfect pattern all over her house. "Cool huh?" she said, blowing the smoke off the end of the gun. "Well, see you later."

Tara promptly fainted, and Willow sighed, poking her head through the door.

"Sophie, can you call Uncle Xander the policeman? We're gonna need some help getting Mama Tara off the roof."

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><p>Later, after Tara had been rescued, the family, including Jonathan and Andrew, were sharing a candlelit dinner when the phone rang.<p>

"Hello?" said Willow as she answered it.

_"Hello" _came a strange voice from the other end of the line. _"Is your refrigerator running?"_

"Uh, I think so.."

_"Then you'd better go catch it!" _The voice cackled, before the line went dead.

"That joke is getting so old" said Willow, rolling her eyes as she headed back to the table.

* * *

><p>"That joke never gets old!" Faith grinned as she exited a phone booth in town. Yes, it was she who had prank called the Rosenberg House. "I should do that more often!" Echo whined his disapproval, and Faith frowned. "You wanna be a party pooper? Fine then, let's just go home. They headed to a trash chute labeled 'Dump it to Lilbit', which the Scoobs used to dump their trash on Mt. Lilbit, near Faith's home. "Do kinda wish there was a less disgusting way to get back there, though." The Dark Slayer and her dog jumped down the chute and soon flew out the other end on Mt. Lilbit, finding a nice soft pile of trash to break their fall. No sooner had they moved, than a new pile of trash shot out behind them. "Great, the new load's here!"<p>

Faith tended to get a little over-excited over this, not just because she and Echo had to mostly live off of scraps dumped from Scoobville, but because occasionally, less trash-like things came down it, like packages of food, or sometimes, brand new clothes. It was almost like somebody was dumping them on purpose to.. Faith shook her head, not dwelling on that. It was easier to keep her heart small without the thought that someone out there had one big enough to keep a place for her. Besides, she found no little presents today anyway. What the Dark Slayer did find though was, to her, just as useful.

"Damn, that stuff reeks!" said Faith, pinching her nose as she approached the pile of trash bags, all reading 'Hazardous Waste'. "Butyou know what they say Echo, one man's trash is another man's potpourri!" Echo barked questioningly. "How should I know? Must be some kind of soup. Anyway, I've got plans for this stuff, so grab a bag. We'll come back for the rest later. And of course, by 'we', I mean 'you'."

* * *

><p>"Auntie Faith, is story-you gonna do naughty things with the Hazzyduss waste?" Sophie frowned.<p>

"Trust me, Little Red" Faith grinned. "When we get to that part, you're not gonna mind."


	5. Where Are You Christmas?

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'The Grinch'.

AN: As I've done with some of my Buffy-fications of movies in the past, you'll see that I have added things and made minor changes to some parts in this one. Enjoy!

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><p>"Okay. Well, why is story-you so mean to Echo when he's the only thing she loves?" Sophie asked.<p>

"Because the me in the story is kinda like me five years ago.." Faith tried to explain.

"Auntie Faith!" cried Sophie, throwing her arms in the air. "Five years ago, I was a newbornded baby in a cave full of demons! I didn't even know you yet!"

"Oh, right.." Her little niece was such a big part of her life now that it was getting hard to remember that she hadn't always been there. "Uh, how about we just go on with the story, it'll make sense eventually.."

* * *

><p>Late that night, having been unable to sleep, Sophie crept down the stairs and into the loungeroom clutching her flashlight, which contained the only lightbulb in the house that hadn't ended up as part of Tara's Christmas display. She looked around the overly decorated room, which contained the overly decorated tree, the bottom of which was completely hidden by the stacks of too many presents, and sighed sadly to herself.<p>

Sophie: **_Where are you Christmas?_**

**_Why can't I find you?_**

**_Why have you gone away?_**

The little girl took unhooked her Christmas stocking from above the fireplace, and used her fingers to trace the letters of her name that had been stitched into the top.

**_My world is changing,_**

**_I'm re-arranging,_**

**_Does that mean Christmas changes too?_**

Sophie glanced at a photo on the mantlepiece of herself the previous Christmas, surrounded by all the presents she had received. She'd been so excited at the time, but in the year since, most of them had been forgotten.

**_Where are you Christmas?_**

**_Do you remember,_**

**_The girl you used to know?_**

**_We were so carefree,_**

**_Now nothing's easy.._**

**_Did Christmas change,_**

**_Or Just me?_**

Sophie perched herself on the sofa and looked out the window, which happened to have a perfect view of Mt. Lilbit, where The Dark Slayer was said to live. As she looked, she remembered how the woman with the apparently undersized heart had rescued her earlier that day, and an idea came to her. Maybe, to save Christmas for herself, she had to save it for Faith as well. But how? That question was too big for her young mind to deal with in the middle of the night, and she soon drifted off into the land of dreams.

As soon as she was sure that the little girl was asleep, Tara, who had secretly seen the whole thing, crept into the room and scooped her daughter into her arms, dropping a kiss to her forehead. She looked toward Mt. Lilbit herself with a sad smile, then carried Sophie back to bed.

* * *

><p>"Fire!" Faith yelled as she used a makeshift catapult to fling one of the bags of waste at a huge poster of Riley which bore the slogan 'Riley Finn For Cheermeister'. "Yeah, bullseye!" After flinging a few more bags at the poster, the Dark Slayer stepped into the slightly dangerous looking elevator she had built with Echo, riding it to another floor of the home she had made for herself inside the mountain. "You know Echo, those Scoobs are startin' to get harder to scare, but we gave 'em our worst and I think it worked out pretty well" Faith grinned. "The best part was scarin' the crap out of that kid at the Post Office! She could be traumatised for life!"<p>

Echo gave an unimpressed bark, and Faith tried to ignore the tiny flash of guilt her last statement caused, remembering that it was trauma of a sort that had led her here.. The Dark Slayer growled at herself, then headed behind a nearby a curtain, screaming and smashing things. Echo laid down and covered his eyes with his paws.

"Wonder why she didn't tell on us though" said Faith thoughtfully as she re-emerged as though nothing had happened. "Probably afraid of reprisals." She pulled a special sort of X-Ray machine from a pile of junk and held it over her chest, turning it on so she could get a good look at her tiny, shrivelled heart. "All right! Down half a size, and this time, I'm keepin' it off!"

Echo whined in disappointment. For a minute, he'd let himself hope that today might mark a positive turning point for his Master.

"Wonder if anyone called while we were gone?" Faith flopped onto her bed, pressing a button on the answering machine beside it.

_"You have _0 _New messages."_

"That's wierd" said Faith, pretending to be surprised. "Better check the outgoing." She pressed another button, and her own voice came roaring out of the machine.

_"I dare you to say one syllable! I'll hunt you down and rip you to shreds! And if this is Riley Finn, you can suck it!" _Then, calming down considerably, machine-Faith added, _"If you want to send a fax, press the star key."_

"I don't see any problems there" Faith shrugged, grabbing a bottle of whiskey from the fridge and taking a swig.

Echo rolled his eyes.

"Who needs 'em anyway, I've got all the company I need right here. Just me and my echo."

Echo barked happily.

"Not you" Faith frowned. "My literal echo. Hey there!" she shouted at the wall.

_"Hey there!" _The cave echoed back.

"How are ya?"

_"How are ya?"_

"I asked you first!" Faith frowned.

_"I asked you first!"_

"Oh, that's real mature!"

_"Oh, that's real mature!"_

"I'm an idiot!" Faith smirked.

_"You're an idiot!" _came the echo.

"Well fine, if that's the way you want it!" Faith snapped. "From now on, I'm just gonna whisper all the time so that when my voice reflects back to me, I won't hear it!"

_"You're an idiot!"_

"Argh!" The Dark Slayer gave a scream of rage as she threw her bottle against the cave wall, smashing it into a million pieces. The impact shook a shelf nearby and a small box fell off, it's contents spilling over the floor.

Echo looked up as Faith gasped and rushed to pick up the little stack of photographs, knowing that these, other than him though she rarely showed it, were the only things in the cave that she truly cared about. She lingered over a couple, one of a pretty little blonde haired girl, and one of herself as a child, her arm slung around the shoulder of a girl with brownish-blonde hair and wide blue eyes. She gently placed them back inthe box, then replaced it on the shelf.

"Come on, Echo" she sighed, "Let's go to bed."

* * *

><p>"Aww" said Sophie with a frown. "Everybody's sad."<p> 


	6. The Sad Tale Of Faith

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'The Grinch'.

* * *

><p>"It'll get better soon, Little Red" said Faith.<p>

"That's what my Mommies always say when they tell me stories" Sophie frowned. "But then a whole lot more bad stuff happens first!"

"Don't worry kiddo, we've got a little while before any more bad stuff happens.."

* * *

><p>The next morning, after Willow had left for work, Sophie marched downstairs with Willow's tape recorder clutched in her hand.<p>

"Mama Tara" said Sophie seriously as she entered the kitchen, where Tara was feeding Lily, "I want to know everything about Faith."

"You do, huh?" said Tara with a smile.

"Yup. And since you're the only one who's told me anything about her before, I thought I should start with you."

"Well, I do know some more things about Faith that I haven't told you before" said Tara, brow crinkling in thought. "But if you want to know everything, right from the beginning, there's probably some other people you should talk to first.."

* * *

><p>And so, Sophie soon found herself standing on the doorstep of a house a few blocks away from hers. She knocked on the door, and a vampire with bleached blonde hair answered it. He looked down at Sophie and frowned, turning away and beginning to shut the door.<p>

"Whatever you're selling, we don't want any."

"Wait!" Sophie cried.

"Don't be rude, Spike" said another voice, it's owner catching the door before it shut. It re-opened to reveal another vampire with short dark hair, who crouched to Sophie's eye-level.

"Hi, I'm Angel" he smiled, while the other vamp, Spike, rolled his eyes. "What can we do for you, Sweetie?"

"My Mama Tara sent me.." Sophie began to explain.

"Oh, you're Tara's daughter!" said Angel, smile widening. "Spike, you remember Tara, don't you? The little girl who used to play with Faith?"

"Yeah, sweet kid" said Spike with a fondly reminiscing smile. "Funny pair she and Faith made though, had nothing in common."

"Actually, that's kinda what I'm here to talk about.." said Sophie.

"Really? Well, come in" said Angel, waving the little girl inside. "Spike, go get some cookies.."

* * *

><p><em>Sophie had some questions in her curious heart.<em>

_Why did Faith hate Christmas?_

_Where did it all start?_

Spike soon emerged from the kitchen with the cookies, but Angel, who was sitting in an armchair across from another one in which Sophie was currently perched, frowned at the tell-tale red streaks through them.

"Spike! Not our cookies, the guest cookies!"

"Oh, right. Sorry, haven't had company in a while." Spike disappeared back into the kitchen, and soon returned with the cookies that didn't contain blood as a major ingredient. Sophie took one, then pressed a button on the tape recorder in her lap.

_With Willow's tape recorder,_

_She just couldn't wait.._

"In your own words, tell me everything you know about Faith."

"Where would you like us to start, love?" asked Spike, taking a seat beside Angel.

"Uh.. Where did she come from?" asked Sophie.

"Oh, she came the way all Scoob babies come of course" Angel chuckled.

"How's that?"

"Well, on calm nights, baby Scoob girls, and tiny Scoob fellas, drift from the sky in their own Pumber-cellars.."

* * *

><p>One night, years ago, what appear to be tiny cradles with umbrellas attached drifted from the sky, each carrying a baby Scoob. One landed on the doorstep of a couple called the Harrises. Mr. Harris was exiting his house to take out the trash when we noticed it.<p>

"Hey honey, our baby's here!" he called inside to his wife, before he peered more closely into the cradle, frowning. "He kinda looks like my Boss!"

* * *

><p>"Oh, so that's how it works" Sophie grinned.<p>

"Mmhmm" Angel nodded. "Faith arrived on a Christmas Eve, and a strange wind blew that night.."

* * *

><p>The pumber-cellar carrying a gurgling, dark haired baby girl, Faith, was drifting calmly towards it's destination, until the occupant of another one, which looked suspiciously like an infant Riley Finn, kicked it, knocking it slightly off course and causing it to become stuck in a tree outside a house in which a party was taking place. Baby Faith screamed at the top of her lungs, but nobody could hear her over the loud Christmas music emanating from the house.<p>

* * *

><p>"We were having our annual Holiday get together" Spike explained, "So it was morning before anyone bloody realised she was out there, poor kid."<p>

"She didn't have the best start in life then" Sophie frowned.

"Well, duh" said Spike. "Besides the stuck in a tree all night thing, what bloody idiot sends a baby Slayer to two vampires? We thought there must have been some mistake at first."

"But there wasn't" said Angel, glaring at Spike, "So we just took her in and raised her the best we could. We knew right from the beginning that she was special.."

* * *

><p>Baby Faith was sitting in her highchair, while Angel approached her with some Christmas cookies on a Santa plate.<p>

"Does Faithy want a Christmas cookie?" said Angel in a babyish voice. "Come on Faithy, pick a cookie!"

"Stop the bloody baby talk, Angel, you'll turn the kid into a dummy" said Spike, rolling his eyes.

"Shut up, Spike" said Angel, annoyed, before turning back to Faith and resuming his baby voice. "You're not a dummy, are you Faithy?"

"Santa!" said Faith, pointing to the plate.

"Bloody Hell, her first word!" Spike gasped.

"Yes, it's a Santa plate" Angel grinned proudly, holding it out towards her. "Do you want to hold the Santa plate?" Faith took it, making her vampire guardians smile.. then promptly slammed it down on her tray, smashing Santa's head clean off.

"Santa, buh-bye!"

Angel and Spike looked to each other in shock.

* * *

><p>"Everyone has their little hiccups" Angel chuckled sheepishly.<p>

"Yeah" said Spike, "But we tried our best to raise her like any other Scoob kid, with a deep love and respect for Christmas.."

* * *

><p>Now at School, an eight year old Faith was giggling madly, drawing a picture of Santa meeting his fiery doom in an exploding sleigh.<p>

* * *

><p>"Angel and Spike said you used to play with Faith" said Sophie, following Tara around with the tape recorder as she did some housework.<p>

"I did" Tara nodded. "We were friends.. Best friends, actually."

"But you always said Mommy Willow was your best friend" Sophie frowned.

"She was, but Faith was my best friend too."

"Spike said you and Faith had nothing in common."

"No, we didn't really."

"If you had nothing in common, how were you best friends?" asked Sophie, confused.

"Back when we were in Kindergarten, she punched Riley in the nose for picking on my stutter" replied Tara with a smile. "We were always just friends after that.."

* * *

><p>"W-What are you drawing?" asked the eight-year old Tara, peeking over Faith's shoulder.<p>

"Santa's sleigh explodin'" said Faith simply, continuing her work. Tara, who had always just accepted her friend's aversion to Christmas as a slight personality quirk, was untroubled by this, but the familiar little red-haired girl sitting at Tara's other side was not.

"Why would you do that?" little Willow gasped.

"Looks cool" Faith shrugged.

"Remember kids, Principal Flutie will be wanting to see your projects soon" announced the teacher, Miss Calendar, from the front of the classroom. "And don't forget that tomorrow is our annual Christmas gift exchange. I hope you all have a present for a special someone!"

"I do!" said Willow, grinning at Tara.

"S-So do I" Tara smiled back, blushing.

"I don't" said Faith, rolling her eyes. She just didn't understand why Christmas was such a big deal.

* * *

><p>"So Faith never liked Christmas?" Sophie frowned.<p>

"Not really" said Tara. "Although, there was one person who almost made her feel differently.."

* * *

><p>"Faith, huh?" said Buffy, surprised, when Sophie went over to talk to her.<p>

"Yup. What do you remember?"

"Well, she had no sense of colour co-ordination, or colour at all for that matter. All she ever wore was black. It was kind of adorable how clueless she was about that stuff.." Buffy trailed off with a smile on her face, then quickly snapped out of her reverie when Sophie giggled. "But really, I barely knew the girl. I was much too focused on schoolwork and stuff.."

* * *

><p>This, of course, was a lie. At school, the young Buffy sat a few rows ahead of Faith, smiling dreamily back at her. When Faith finally noticed this, Buffy waved, making the soon-to-be Dark Slayer blush.<p>

* * *

><p>"I was a lot nicer to her than most of the other kids, though" Buffy admitted, "And I think that made somebody get the wrong idea.."<p>

* * *

><p>"Buffy's always been my girl" said Riley, while Graham polished his shoes. "But the Dark Slayer just couldn't let go of this little crush she had." Sophie would have pointed out that Faith wasn't called the Dark Slayer yet at that point, but didn't want to cause more trouble for her Mommy Willow by annoying him. "Look, I really don't like talking about her so close to the Christmas season, but if I tell you maybe you'll understand. I tried to be kind, take her under my wing.."<p>

* * *

><p>This story too, was different from how Riley remembered it. The future Mayor of Scoobville scowled when he noticed how Buffy, <em>his <em>Buffy, was looking at Faith, and decided that this little problem needed to be dealt with right away. So, when the bell rang to signal the end of class, Riley marched right over to his apparent new love rival, Graham standing dutifully at his side.

"Um, Faith.." Tara nervously nudged Faith's shoulder to alert her friend to Riley's presence.

"What do you want?" Faith frowned.

"To tell you that you can forget about ever being with Buffy, you freak!" Riley Spat, making the shocked Faith take a few steps backwards. "Look at you! You're eight years old and you look like a vampire! No one else wears that much black!" Little Faith looked down at her clothes, suddenly feeling embarassed and self-conscious. "She'll never want you when she could have me!" Feeling he had made his point, Riley strode off.

"Faith" said Tara, as her friend began packing away her things looking noticably upset, "D-Don't listen to him.."

"Yeah" Willow agreed. Just because she and Faith weren't the closest of friends didn't mean she wanted to see her bullied. "Riley's a big doo-doo head."

"Doesn't mean he's not right.." Faith mumbled.

* * *

><p>"Riley really was a doo-doo head" said the Present Tara, agreeing with the girl who had eventually become her wife.<p>

* * *

><p>"It was obvious that Riley had hurt her feelings" said Buffy. "Poor girl.."<p>

* * *

><p>Having seen what had happened, the young Buffy rolled her eyes when Riley winked at her as he passed by, then decided to fix the mess that the boy had created.<p>

"Faith?"

"What?" Faith snapped, until she realised who had spoken, and became uncharacteristically nervous. "Oh. Uh, hi Buffy.."

"Riley shouldn't have been mean to you. But you know, he's a boy, and boys are stupid sometimes" said Buffy. Seeing that Faith felt awkward, she quickly changed the subject, so as to get her point across in another way. "Don't you just love Christmas? It's my favourite time of the year. I love all the colours, like red, and gold, and green.. You can even count black as a Christmas colour if you think of Santa's boots.." she brushed the shoulder of Faith's black jacket, blushing as she did so. "Isn't it great?"

"Yeah" said Faith, a goofy grin spreading over her face. "Gotta love Christmas."

"But she always says she hates.."

"That Christmas only c-comes once a year!" said Tara quickly, clapping a hand over Willow's mouth and earning herself a grateful smile from Faith.

"Yeah, that does kinda suck" Buffy sighed. "Well, see you Tomorrow."

* * *

><p>"Me, have a crush on Faith?" said Buffy, looking mildly scandalised. "That's ridiculous!"<p>

"I never said that" Sophie smirked.

"You didn't?"

"No."

"Oh" Buffy blushed, embarassed. "Uh.. can we rewind that tape?"

* * *

><p>"Buffy so had a crush on Faith" Tara chuckled.<p>

"Is that why you don't like her?" Sophie asked.

"That.. Well, it's complicated" Tara sighed. "I know it wasn't Buffy's fault, but, if she'd picked any other day to try and talk to Faith, everything that happened next might not have happened.."

* * *

><p>"Yeah, see ya." Faith stared after Buffy as she left, and then an idea formed in her mind. "Hey Tara, can you come over after School today and help me with somethin'?"<p>

"Okay" said Tara, confused. "What?"

"You'll see" Faith grinned.

"You're not going to get her in trouble are you?" Willow frowned.

"No.. Well, probably not.."

* * *

><p>"That day when the kid got home from school, she really got into the spirit of Christmas for the first time" Spike grinned proudly.<p>

* * *

><p>Tara went home with Faith when School finished, and the pair had soon begun digging through the trash cans outside the future Dark Slayer's house.<p>

"Faith, w-what are we l-looking for exactly?" Tara asked. "Not really sure" Faith shrugged. "Just somethin' I could use.. Like this!" she grinned, pulling a trumpet out of the trash and running back to the house with it.

"What are you going to d-do with that?" asked Tara, confused, before rushing after her. "Faith, wait! W-Wait for me!"

* * *

><p>"I'm not going to pretend she was an angel normally, but that day, Faith was a real little terror" Tara laughed.<p>

* * *

><p>When Tara finally caught up to her friend, she found her upending an entire draw full of silverware onto the kitchen table.<p>

"Oopsie" Faith smirked.

"Faith!" cried Tara. "W-What are you doing?"

"Help me pick out the prettiest ones" said Faith, sifting through the utensils.

* * *

><p>Then, Faith raided box full of old jewellery that, technically, she was 'Never ever ever' supposed to touch.<p>

"What a lovely family heirloom!" Faith grinned, pulling out an old jewelled necklace.

"I don't w-want to know what you're going to d-do with that, do I?" Tara sighed.

"Probably not" Faith admitted. "Tell ya what, you can go home now so you don't get blamed for anythin'."

"Okay" said Tara wearily, picking up her schoolbag and heading for the door. "See you Tomorrow."

"Yeah, T. See ya."

* * *

><p>Faith took a hammer to the necklace, smashing all the jewels, then did the same with the forks and spoons she had chosen, making them into prettier shapes. She was attempting to make a Christmas Angel as a gift for Buffy.<p>

Faith crept into the garage and found Spike's blow-torch, which she was also 'never ever ever' supposed to touch.

"Ah, the fires of love" she chuckled, using it to weld some forks to the trumpet for angel wings, and a spoon for the head. She glued the smashed jewels to the wings for extra decoration, then stood back to admire her work. "This'll look great on top of Buffy's tree!" For the first time, she was beginning to see the festive season in a positive light. "Oh, I love Christmas!"

* * *

><p>That night, before she went to sleep, Faith set the angel on her bedside table, then looked in the mirror, frowning when she remembered Riley's words from earlier that day.<p>

_"You can forget about ever being with Buffy, you freak! Look at you, you're eight years old and you look like a vampire! No-one else wears that much black!"_

Faith scowled and grabbed the Christmas themed paint set Angel had given her for her birthday.

* * *

><p>The next day at school, the class was bustling with activity, as all the children excitedly exchanged gifts with their friends or sweethearts. Tara looked around, slightly worried, as she clutched the candle she had received from Willow.<p>

"Willow, have you s-seen Faith this morning?"

"No" Willow replied, when she had finished admiring the Doll's Eye crystal that Tara had given her. "Weird, she's not usually so late is she?"

"No" Tara frowned.

* * *

><p>Sophie glanced at her mantlepiece, where a candle and a crystal had sat side by side for as long as she could remember.<p>

"You still gots that stuff!" she said in awe.

"Uh-huh" Tara smiled.

* * *

><p>Faith's absence also troubled Buffy, who looked around the room for her, concerned<p>

"Well done, kids" said Miss Calendar from the front of the classroom. "Has everybody given out their gifts?"

"I haven't" said a familiar, slightly muffled voice. Everyone turned to see Faith emerge from behind a rack of Christmas costumes at the back of the room, wearing a paperbag over her head, with holes cut out for her eyes. She shuffled past the other kids, many of whom stifled giggles, towards one of the few sympathetic faces in the room. "Merry Christmas, Buffy" she said quietly, placing the angel on Buffy's desk, before returning to her own.

"Faith" said Miss Calendar, confused, after she had sat down, "Why do you have a bag on your head?"

"Easy, she was embarassed to be seen with that piece of junk gift!" Riley laughed, joined by Graham and a few others. Both Buffy and Tara glared at him.

"No reason" said Faith, kicking her feet under the table.

"Well can you take it off?" said Miss Calendar gently.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes" replied Miss Calendar, trying to be stern. Faith sighed and removed the bag, only to lift her foot up in front of her face. "And your foot." Faith moved her foot, covering her face with a book. "And the book" Miss Calendar frowned, getting a little annoyed. Faith, very reluctantly, lowered the book, revealing the streaks of green, red, white, and gold paint all through her hair. Yep, Miss Calendar very suddenly wished she'd just let the poor kid keep the bag on. The class, minus Tara, Willow, and Buffy, collapsed into a fit of riotous laughter.

"Look at that mess!" Riley got out between giggles. "Her head looks like a Christmas tree!"

"Everybody stop it!" yelled Tara over the laughter. "Stop it, it's n-not nice!"

"But she looks so stupid!" said Graham, pulling a face.

Faith scowled, hands balling into fists. This was the last straw.

"Stupid present!" she yelled, grabbing the angel and throwing it to the ground, smashing it. She marched over to the tree, lifting it over her head. "Stupid tree! I HATE CHRISTMAS!"

* * *

><p>"The anger!" said present Riley with a shiver.<p>

"The fury!" added Graham.

* * *

><p>"The pain.." said Tara sadly.<p>

* * *

><p>"The muscles!" said Buffy with a dreamy sigh.<p>

* * *

><p>Faith hurled the tree against the wall, then proceeded to trash the rest of the classroom. Buffy, Tara, and Willow dodged the flying debris. By now, most of the other students had already fled.<p>

"Tara, come on!" cried Willow, tugging her friends arm.

"No, I h-have to h-help her!" said Tara, moving closer to the raging Faith. "Faith, you have to calm.." Faith shoved Tara roughly to the ground, but when she realised just who she had pushed, her eyes widened in horror, anger beginning to subside.

"Tara.."

"Look what you did!" Willow yelled angrily, rushing to Tara's side. Faith looked between Tara, on the ground clutching her elbow which had slammed into the corner of a desk as she fell, the furious Willow, the angel smashed on the ground, the destroyed classroom, and finally, Buffy, whose look of sympathy she mistook for one of fear, then bolted from the room.

"Faith!" cried Tara, scrambling to her feet and attempting to follow her friend. "Faith, w-wait! I know you didn't m-mean it.."

* * *

><p>"I couldn't catch her" said Tara regretfully. "She was too fast for me, being a Slayer and all.."<p>

* * *

><p>Back in the classroom, little Buffy sadly sifted through the mess, collecting the pieces of the broken angel.<p>

* * *

><p>"It was terrible, how they were all so cruel to her, just because she was a little different. I could hardly bear it.." seeing the tears prickling at the corner of her eyes, Sophie began to see her neighbour in a new light. She really did care about what had happened to Faith.<p>

* * *

><p>"I went and waited at her house, but Faith never came home that day" said Tara sadly. "That was the last time any of us ever saw her.."<p>

* * *

><p>"I hate Christmas!" little Faith sobbed, climbing towards the top of Mt. Lilbit. "I hate it!" Worn out, the little girl slumped down by the trash chute, still sobbing. She looked up, surprised, when a pile of trash shot out, and from the pile crawled a tiny, dishevelled Border Collie pup wearing a tattered red ribbon. The puppy padded over to the weeping child, giving a questioning bark. Faith hugged the puppy to her chest, continuing to sob. "I hate Christmas.. We can hate it together.."<p>

* * *

><p>That night, Sophie once again stared sadly out the window at Mt. Lilbit.<p>

"Poor Faith. I wish there was something I could do.." She sat for a while, thinking, when an idea came to her, and she smiled. There_ was _something she could do..

* * *

><p>"What? What?" cried Sophie, bouncing excitedly.<p>

* * *

><p>AN: Okay people, I need a little help here. In your reviews, leave a suggestion for a silly outfit that Faith can wear to the Cheermeister ceremony.<p> 


	7. Faith For Cheermeister!

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'The Grinch'.

* * *

><p>"You'll see, kiddo" Faith chuckled ruffling Sophie's hair. "Now obviously, Faith had never recovered from what happened when she was a kid, and being alone all those years had just given her time to stew over it, while her heart got smaller and smalller.."<p>

* * *

><p><em>For whatever reason,<em>

_Her heart or her shoes,_

_Faith stood outside her cave,_

_Just hating the Scoobs!_

"I'll go through this whole book if I have to!" said Faith, flicking through a phonebook and pointing to a random name. "Cordelia Chase.. I HATE YOU!" she jabbed her finger at another name. "Harmony Kendall.. HATE YOU! Allen Francis Doyle, never met ya, but.. I HATE YOU TOO!" Faith continued to flip through the book. "Hate, hate, hate, double hate.." She reached Riley's name scowling. "LOATHE ENTIRELY!"

Echo whined sadly. His Master would never be able to let her heart grow again if she just kept hating everyone, most of them for no good reason. As Faith continued to glare down at Scoobville, the sound of the Scoobs happy, singing voices began to filter up to the mountain. The Dark Slayer groaned as her mind twigged to what was going on.

"It's their Scoobilation!"

_She snarled with a sneer._

"Tomorrow is Christmas! It's practically here!" Faith bolted back into the cave with Echo, then slammed the door behind her. "Echo, grab my sedative, quick!"

Echo rolled his eyes, then went to fetch the 'sedative', which was really just a hammer. Faith took the hammer from the dog's jaws, relieved.

"Gotta get rid of those crappy memories, pronto" she said, lifting the hammer up. "Good thing I'm a Slayer, or this could kill me." She hit herself in the head with the hammer, knocking herself out. Echo gave a doggy sigh, grabbing Faith's collar between his teeth and dragging her to bed.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile down in Scoobville, most of the Scoobs were headed towards the Town Hall for the 1000th Scoobilation celebrations. Many were singing as they walked.<p>

Scoobs: **_Scoobilation plentiful with candy canes and pies,_**

**_I can't wait to get there and eat some curly fries!_**

**_Scoobilation, Scoobilation, rah, rah, rah!_**

Sophie, piggybacking baby Lily, walked behind Willow, who was currently focused on a list of things she still needed to get done before Christmas the following day.

"Mommy Willow" she began seriously, "I've been thinking about Scoobilation, and I thought I should warn you that I might have to do something crazy."

"That's nice, Sweetie" said Willow, not really listening, as she ticked a few items off her list. "Did you ask Mama Tara?"

"Uh-huh" Sophie nodded. "She thinks it's a great idea."

"Okay then.." Willow frowned, finally looking up. "Where is your Mama Tara anyway? She and the boys should have met up with us by now."

"Here I am!" Tara called happily from behind them, waving. As her wife and daughters turned to look, Tara pointed back over her shoulder at Andrew and Jonathan, who were dragging along a set of traffic lights. "Look! I just found the cutest light for my Christmas display!" Sophie slapped her forehead and groaned, having hoped that her Mother may have toned the light obsession down a notch.

"Uh, Sweetie?" said Willow a little nervously, wincing at the sound of cars crashing a few streets back, "Where'd you get that?"

"Oh, the corner of Fifth and main" Tara chuckled sheepishly, taking Lily from Sophie. "Come on, we don't want to be late."

* * *

><p>Before long, they arrived at the crowded Town Hall. Buffy, given VIP status by Riley, was standing on the side of the stage, but gave her neighbours a friendly wave when she spotted them. Riley walked up to the podium, with Graham behind him carrying the Book of Scoob.<p>

"Okay everyone, quiet down" said Riley into the microphone. "It's time for the Cheermeister nominations. Who wants to start things off?"

"I nominate you, sir" said Graham quickly.

"Excellent!" Riley grinned. "Anyone else?" The crowd remained silent. "Come on, don't be shy. Anyone?" Since Riley had become Mayor of Scoobville, he had won Cheermeister unopposed every year, and it didn't occur to anyone to nominate another candidate. "No? Well, if there are no other nominees, then.."

Sophie took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"I nominate The Dark Slayer, Faith!"

The crowd gasped in horror, all eyes turning to Sophie. Willow tried to pull her back, but it was too late. Once a nomination was made, it had to be acknowledged.

Finally, Riley let out a guffaw of laughter, as if the whole thing was a joke, and some members of the crowd joined him.

"You certainly have an altruistic little daughter there, Willow" he chuckled.

"Uh, thanks? I think.." said Willow, a little nervous.

"Sophie" The Mayor of Scoobville forced a smile, "Would you come up here for a moment, please?" Sophie approached the stage, head held high, and Buffy offered her a hand to help her up. "Now, I know you may think you're doing a good thing here" Riley continued, taking the Book of Scoob from Graham, "But I think the verse in here says it best: 'The term 'Dark Slayer-y' shall apply when Christmas cheer is in short supply.' Does that sound like a good candidate for our Cheermeister to you?"

"Her name is Faith" Sophie frowned, "And she's only mean 'cause everyone was mean to her when she was little. Besides, there's another verse in the Book Of Scoob that says 'No matter how different a Scoob may appear, they will always be welcomed with Holiday cheer.'" A chorus of 'aww' rang out from the crowd.

"That is a good point" said Xander, the Chief of the Scoob Police Force. "Afterall, we did forgive Willow that time she almost destroyed the town."

"I thought we all agreed to never talk about that!" cried Willow, annoyed. Xander's words had, however, made the other Scoobs think, murmuring amongst themselves. Riley cursed under his breath. He would not be beaten by a five year old!

"But the Book of Scoob also says.." He began flipping frantically through the pages. "It says.. Uh.." Damn it! He'd have to make something up. "'The award cannot go to the Dark Slayer... Because.. She will obliterate ya."

"It doesn't say that" said Sophie, crossing her arms.

"Yes it does."

"What page?" Sophie smirked.

"Um.. uh.. Oh darn, lost my place" said Riley, quickly slamming the book shut and handing it back to Graham. "But it's in there for sure."

"Okay" Sophie frowned, "But in the chapter about the Cheermeister, the Book of Scoob says 'The Cheermeister is the one who deserves a back slap or toast, and it goes to the soul at Christmas who needs it the most'." Sophie turned to face the crowd. "I believe that Faith is that soul. We have a chance to prove that we're not as bad as she thinks. And if you're the Scoobs I hope you are, you'll give her a chance too." For a moment, the crowd fell silent. Then, they cheered.

"Fine, then!" Riley snapped. "You people want to ruin a perfectly good nomination, go ahead! But face it" he gestured towards Mt Lilbit, "The Dark Slayer won't come down here."

"And when she doesn't show up, Riley will wear the crown!" said Graham.

"Well, more or less" said Riley with a smug grin.

"Faith will come!" said Sophie, determined. "I'll make sure of it!"

* * *

><p>"Yay for story-me!" cried Sophie happily.<p> 


	8. Invitation

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'The Grinch'.

AN: Really on a roll with this one, aren't I? But don't worry, I've been working on the next chapter of 'Scooby Family Snapshots' as well, and it should be up soon.

* * *

><p>"Hold it, Little Red" Faith chuckled. "You haven't got story-me down from her mountain just yet."<p>

"But I will" said Sophie proudly. "It's what happens in all these types of stories. The little kid helps the mean, grumpy person learn to be nice again. And also" she grinned, "Auntie Buffy says you turn into a big marshmallow when you're around me!"

"She does, huh?" Faith frowned.

"Yup."

"Well then, I'm gonna have to have a little talk with her later, but for now, let's go on with the story.."

* * *

><p>Now that the business of Cheermeister nominations were done with, the Scoobs were doing some last minute decorating around town, singing as they worked.<p>

Scoobs: **_Deck your heart with jollity,_**

**_Style your smile all Chritmas-y,_**

**_Flick some flocking on the tree,_**

**_Let there be Scoobilation!_**

Some Scoobs were making some early preparations for their Christmas dinner.

_**Bake the fruit cake,**_

_**Egg the nog.**_

_**Feed the flaming yuletide log,**_

_**Baste the beast and gulp the grog, **_

_**Let there be Scoobilation!**_

* * *

><p>As the Scoobs joyful singing continued to float up to the top of Mt. Lilbit, The Dark Slayer subconsciously began to sing along in her sleep.<p>

"_Tick, tock, tick, tock, countin' down the Christmas clock. Old, young, big, small.._" Faith woke with a start, horrified at what she had been doing. "Stupid Christmas music! It's so joyful and triumphant!" She covered her head with her pillow, but the music still forced it's way through to her ears. She scowled, jumping out of bed. "I've got to drown it out somehow!" She grabbed some random junk and threw it into five blenders, quickly flicking the switches of each. Unfortunately, the Scoobs singing still broke through. "Oh come on!"

Echo crawled under the bed to ride out the storm. This happened every year.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Sophie battled the elements as she fought her way up the mountain, with Faith's invitation, as well as another envelope, clutched in her hands. While the other Scoobs had accepted the Dark Slayer's nomination, no-one else had been brave enough to deliver the invitation personally.<p>

_The whipperwinds whipped high above the Scoob town,_

_With a trip or a slip you'd slide all the way down._

_But Sophie had a mission,_

_She knew just what to do._

_She'd invite Faith herself,_

_That brave little Scoob!_

* * *

><p>Inside the cave, Faith was still desperately trying to drown out the Scoobs singing. She found a big mechanical toy monkey with huge cymbals, and wound it up. She groaned in annoyance when the singing could still be heard.<p>

"Stupid monkey!" Faith snapped. "Can't ya play any louder?" She grabbed a jackhammer from her pile of junk and switched it on, but still the Scoobs singing won out. "Fine, I'll just have to beat 'em at their own game. LA LA LA LA LA.."

Under the bed, Echo covered his eyes with his paws. It was going to be a long couple of days.

* * *

><p>"What's she doing in there?" said Sophie, confused, as she arrived outside the Dark Slayer's lair, hearing the terrible racket from within. The little girl shrugged, then walked over to knock on the door. No-one answered. "Hello?" Sophie called, knocking again. Still no reply. "Hello, Miss Faith? I really gots to talk to you, it's about the Cheermeister ceremony for Scoobilation!" Nothing. Frustrated now, Sophie began looking around for another way in, eyes soon falling on the doggie door.<p>

* * *

><p>"Miss Faith?" Sophie called again. She frowned as she spotted the Dark Slayer nearby, sticking her head between the mechanical monkey's cymbals, trying to knock herself out again. She took a deep breath and marched over, tapping Faith on the shoulder. The Dark Slayer jumped, realising she had company, and tossed the monkey away before turning to glare at her unwanted guest.<p>

"Hello, little girl" she scowled. "You dare to enter the lair of the Dark Slayer? The impudence! The audacity! The unmitigated gall!" Faith began to jump around, flexing her muscles as though she was a boxer. "Well, you've brought down the thunder kid, prepare to face the boom!" She turned around, then spun back pulling a face. "Ooga Booga!"

"Okay" said Sophie slowly, raising an eyebrow. "Um, hi. I'm Sophie Rosenberg. We meeted at the Post Office the other day?"

"Oh yeah, you're that kid I wrapped up!" Faith remembered with a grin. "I can see the terror wellin' up inside you right now!"

"I'm not scared" Sophie frowned.

"It's obvious you'd say that. Denial is expected in the face of pure evil!"

"I don't think you're evil.."

"Ha, doubt! Another unmistakable sign of fear!" Faith cried triumphantly. "You're doomed now! Run!" the Dark Slayer shrieked horribly. "Run, before I kill again!" Sophie just giggled. Faith continued to jump around madly, smashing things. "I'm a lunatic! Danger, little girl! Danger, danger!"

"Are you okay?" said Sophie, still giggling.

"Figures" Faith huffed. "All you kids today are desensitised from watchin' too much T.V." She took a deep breath, leading Sophie to think she was trying to calm herself, until she screamed at the top of her lungs: "WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

"Faith" Sophie smiled, completely unfazed by the Dark Slayer's outburst, "I've come to invite you to be Scoobville's new Holiday Cheermeister."

"Holiday hooby-watsits?" Faith frowned.

"Cheermeister" Sophie repeated, holding out the envelope. Faith snatched it from the little girls hands, looking it over.

"Let's see.. Cheermeister.. Holiday fun.. Celebrate with friends.. Ha!" Faith scoffed. "What friends?"

"My Mama Tara" said Sophie, making the Dark Slayer freeze. So she was Tara's kid. That's why she looked so familiar. "She doesn't blame you for what happened. I know why you hate Christmas, but a lot of it was just a big misunderstanding." She sighed, setting the other envelope on Faith's bedside table. "I've been having some yuletide doubts of my own recently, and I thought.."

"Don't care" Faith snapped, breaking out of her memories and turning to walk away.

"I thought that maybe if you reunited with the Scoobs, and got to be a part of Christmas again.."

"Maybe if you reunite with blah-bitty, blah, blah, Christmas" Faith mocked. "Grow up, kid. Not all problems can be fixed with hugs 'n puppies."

"But I thought that if I made Christmas good for you, it might be okay for me too" said Sophie sadly. Faith paused, then shook her head. This kid was dangerous, making her 'feel' and stuff. She had to get her out of there, pronto.

"Oh gee, look at the time!" said Faith sarcastically, looking at her watchless wrist. "This session is over. Make an appointment with my secretary for January of never!"

"Okay" Sophie gave a mock sigh, apparently turning to leave. "I guess we'll just have to give the award to someone else.."

"Award?" Faith perked up, grabbing Sophie by the collar and lifting her up to her eye-level. "You didn't mention an award."

"Yup, and there's a big trophy, just for you!"

"But that means.."

"Uh-huh!" Sophie nodded. "You won!"

"If I won" said Faith, an unpleasant grin spreading over her face as she set Sophie down, "Then there had to be losers, right?"

"Yeah, I guess" said Sophie. "But in Scoobville, we don't really.."

"All right!" The whole town's a bunch of losers, and I'm a winner!" Faith grinned. "Was anyone damaged emotionally that I don't know about?"

"Uh.." Sophie hesitated.

"Come on!" Faith urged. "You couldn't shut up about it a minute ago! Give me some info!"

"Well, Mayor Riley wasn't too happy about it."

"Oh!" Faith gave a sarcastic gasp. "Gee, that's too bad."

"Buffy Summers is going to be at the ceremony" Sophie added with a grin.

"She is?" said Faith, heart still skipping a beat at the name after all these years.

"Uh-huh. She decorated the hall" Sophie explained. "She really misses you, I can tell. She's been my neighbour since forever."

"If I go to this thing, she'll finally get to see me as a winner" The Dark Slayer mused.

"Yep" Sophie grinned.

"She'd be all over me like fleas on a flat faced foogle horse!" Faith beamed.

"So you'll come?" said Sophie hopefully. "Please?"

"Well.." Damn it! The kid had Tara's eyes, Tara having been one of the few people who could ever talk her into, or out of anything. This was not good. "Fine. Whatever."

"Yay!"

"I don't know if it's those puppy dog eyes, or that non-conformist streak that reminds me of when I was a kid, but you've convinced me" Faith smirked, flinging an arm around Sophie's shoulders and guiding her to a certain spot on the floor, before moving to a rope hanging from the roof nearby. "Who knows? This Scoobilation may change the way I view things forever!"

"Really?"

"No" Faith scoffed, pulling the rope and sending Sophie down a hidden trap door, screaming.

Echo, having watched the whole exchange from his spot under the bed, rushed to the little girl's aid, but it was too late. He glared at his Master, who ignored him.

"Weird kid.. Sweet though, like her Mom.."

* * *

><p>"That wasn't very nice, Auntie Faith" Sophie pouted.<p> 


	9. To Go Or Not To Go?

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'The Grinch'.

* * *

><p>"Again, Little Red, just a story" Faith reminded her.<p>

"Oh, yeah" said Sophie, a little sheepishly.

"You know I'd never really do anything like that to you, right?" Faith frowned. "Because I.."

"I know, because you love me" Sophie grinned. "You even broked somebody's nose for me once."

"I'd break a million noses for you, Little Red" Faith chuckled, ruffling her hair. "Not that a situation where I'd have to is likely to come up, but hey, in our world, you never know.."

"I know. So, what happens next in the story?"

"Well, it turns out story-you loved her ride down the chute.."

* * *

><p>And she did. After screaming for the first few metres down, Sophie realised that she wasn't scared at all. She was having fun!<p>

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" the little girl cried joyfully, before flying out the end of the chute and landing on her back in the snow back in Scoobville, giggling.

"Sophie, there you are!" cried Willow, relieved, as she pulled her daughter to her feet. "You can make snow angels later, we can't be late for Scoobilation!" As they headed off, Sophie glanced back towards Mt. Lilbit, sighing.

_"I hope she comes.."_

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, back in her cave, Faith slumped in her armchair, thinking the matter of her possible involvement in Scoobilation over and done with. Echo had other ideas. The dog gathered up the invitation, along with the other envelope Sophie had left, in his jaws, and dropped them into his Master's lap.<p>

"Yeah, can you believe those Scoobs?" said Faith, annoyed. "Asking me to come to their stupid Scoobilation, and on such short notice!"

Echo rolled his eyes. Faith had obviously missed the point.

"And what's this?" Faith continued, tearing open the other envelope. "Probably some bleedin' heart letter from that kid, beggin' me to come.." However, when Faith saw what the envelope contained, she froze. It wasn't a letter, it was a photograph. And it wasn't from Sophie, it was from Tara. Faith instantly recognised Tara's face grinning out at at her from the photo, as well as Willow's, and Sophie's. The baby in Tara's arms was the only unfamiliar face, but she obviously belonged to them too. The Dark Slayer turned the photo over in her hands, finding the words _'Miss You. T.' _, scrawled on the back. Faith felt a lump in her throat, then once again shook her head. "Sorry T, that emotional blackmail crap doesn't work on me anymore." Still, she stood and moved to place the photograph gently into the box with the others, which, she now realised, Tara must have also dropped down the trash chute to her when she'd found them years before. "And ya know Echo, even if I did want to go to this thing.."

Echo's ears pricked up hopefully.

"Which I don't.."

The ears drooped.

"My schedule just wouldn't allow it" Faith continued, grabbing a notebook from her bedside table and flipping through the pages. "See? 4.00: Wallow in self pity. 4.30: Stare into the abyss. 5.00: Solve world hunger, but don't tell anyone about it. That should be a hoot."

Echo growled his disapproval. Faith ignored him.

"5.30: Jazzercise. 6.00: Dinner with me. I can't cancel that again. 7.00: Wrestle with my self-loathing. Yep, my evening is completely booked."

Echo gave a few frustrated barks.

"What do you mean none of that stuff's important?" cried Faith, annoyed. "It's really important. And besides all that, I've got to practice bein' scary so I can get rid of that kid again if she tries to come back... BOO!"

Echo looked unimpressed.

"Yeah, well, the only reason you're not scared is that you're used to bein' around me all the time" Faith huffed, slumping back in her chair. "Any other person would be shakin' in their boots.."

Echo once again retrieved the Scoobilation invitation and dropped it back in the Dark Slayer's lap.

"Will you drop it?" Faith snapped. "I'm not goin'!"

Echo whined.

"I am not in emotional pain, Echo, I just don't want to go! Why is it such a big deal to you?"

Echo, becoming frustrated but not willing to back down, decided to force an emotional response from his Master, leaping up and purposefully knocking the box of photos from the shelf, letting them scatter over the floor.

"Hey!" Faith yelled, once again rushing over to pick them up. "I told you to never touch those!"

Echo pushed forward the picture of Buffy with his paw.

"The kid did say B missed me, and if Tara misses me to.." Faith muttered as she picked it up, thinking for a moment. Eventually, she gave a sigh of defeat. "Fine, Echo, you win. This is going completely against my better judgement, but.. If I push self-loathing to 9.00, maybe I can go to the Cheermeister thing and be back in time to sit in bed, stare at the ceiling and go out of my mind!" Yes, this was crazy, but Faith was already broken from her childhood experiences. Things couldn't possibly get any worse for her than they already were. However, she did have one other problem. "But what will I wear?"

Echo gave a doggy groan, hoping his Master wouldn't use this as yet another excuse to skip Scoobilation. Faith whipped a tablecloth out from underneath a pile of junk, somehow not letting any fall, then tied it around her waist.

"Ta-da!"

Echo made a sound that almost seemed like he was laughing.

"It's not a skirt, it's a kilt!" said Faith, annoyed. "Tryin' to show off my Scottish heritage."

Echo gave a confused bark.

"Oh right, Angel was Irish" Faith frowned. "Well, there goes that idea." She whipped off the table cloth, then moved to dig through her closet. "Stupid, disgusting, expired.." She grumbled, throwing items over her shoulder. She pulled out a wolf costume, nose wrinkling. "Why did I even keep this? This is stupid, if I can't find anything decent to wear, then I'm not going.." At that moment, as if the Universe was somehow trying to make sure Faith attended Sccobilation, The Dark Slayer heard a cheerleader who was practicing outside her cave for some reason, and this gave her an idea.

* * *

><p>"Scoobs got Christmas spirit, yes we do!" chanted the cheerleader, Cordelia, as she jumped around outside Faith's cave, dressed in a red and green Christmas themed cheerleaders outfit, with red and green ribbons in her hair, waving her red and green Christmas themed pom-poms. "Scoobs got Christmas spirit, how about you.. Ah!" She yelped, as a Shepherd's hook jerked her into the cave.<p>

* * *

><p>After stealing Cordy's clothes and kicking her back out into the cold, Faith put the outfit on herself, adding her own black boots for an extra Dark Slayerly touch.<p>

"How do I look?" she asked.

Echo barked approvingly. Faith smiled, then shook her head.

"What the hell am I thinkin'? I'm not goin'.."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the Scoobs had gathered in the town square for the next stage of the Scoobilation celebrations. The votes for Cheermeister had been counted, and Riley took to the stage wearing a rather sour expression.<p>

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen" he forced a smile. "It is time to present our Holiday Cheermeister award. So, congratulations to Faith, The Dark Slayer!" The crowd cheered, but the cheers quickly faded when they realised that their elected Cheermeister was absent. "What, she didn't show?" said Riley sarcastically. "Well, who could have predicted this?" He flashed a smug grin in Sophie's direction. Sophie clenched her fists.

* * *

><p>Faith continued to pace back and forth, muttering to herself.<p>

Echo growled.

"Fine, tell you what. I'll go down there for a minute to let them envy me, get some snacks, then get out of there."

Echo made a reluctant sound of agreement. He guessed that was better than nothing.

"But wait, what if this is some dumb prank?" Faith frowned. "How dare they.. Okay, I'll go."

Echo yipped happily.

"But I'll be fashionably late!"

Echo made annoyed sound, knowing that his Master was already late.

"No, yes, no, yes, absolutely not!"

Echo was becoming very frustrated by now, as you could imagine.

"Okay, My decision is made. I'm going, and nothing can change my mind" Faith pulled her crossed fingers out from behind her back. "Oh look, my finger's were crossed. Guess that means I.. " She screamed, suddenly plummeting down the same trap door through which she had earlier sent Sophie.

Echo sat by the lever looking innocent.

* * *

><p>"Well," Riley continued, "Since Faith hasn't shown up, I guess the award will have to go to our runner-up.."<p>

"A man for whom Christmas comes not just once a year, but every minute of every day!" said Graham, taking the microphone while Riley smirked. "The only man in the World to have had his tonsils removed, twice!"

"That's quite an interesting story" Riley grinned, taking the mike back. Buffy, from her spot beside the stage, rolled her eyes. She'd heard this story a million times before. "See, what happened was.." Thankfully, he was soon interrupted. Screaming was heard, and then the Dark Slayer came flying out of the end of the trash chute, bouncing off a few 'Merry Christmas!' and 'Happy Scoobilation!' banners, before face-planting right between Buffy's boobs, knocking her to the ground.

"Hello, Buffy" she greeted, voice muffled.

* * *

><p>"Auntie Faith, that's rude!" Sophie scolded.<p> 


	10. Things Are Looking Up

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'The Grinch'

* * *

><p>"Hey, I can't help it if that's the way the story happens!" said Faith.<p>

"Really?" Sophie crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Really!" said Faith. "Trust me, that's just how the story goes. Ask anyone, they'll tell you the same thing."

"Anyone?"

"Well, anyone except Mommy Willow, 'cause she'd get mad anyway" Faith chuckled sheepishly, before quickly changing the subject. "Let's go on with the story.."

* * *

><p>After recovering from the shock of what had just happened, Buffy shoved Faith off of her, blushing with embarassment. Faith stood up, smirking.<p>

"You came!" cried Sophie happily, rushing forward.

"Sophie, no!" yelled Willow, pulling her daughter back.

"Willow" Tara lightly scolded.

"What?" Willow frowned. "Just because you've never given up on Faith still being a good person deep down, doesn't mean I.." At Faith's glare, Willow fell silent. The Dark Slayer glared around at the frightened Scoobs, pausing for a moment on Riley, who gulped. She took a few steps toward the crowd, who quickly backed away. Faith smirked, approaching them again, and leaning forward a little. A few of the Scoobs, curiosity getting the better of them, leaned forward too. But as soon as they did..

"Boo!" said Faith.

The Scoobs yelped, quickly backing away, except for Tara, who rolled her eyes, and Sophie, who sighed. This was not going as well as she'd hoped.

"Nice crowd we've got here, very nice" Faith grinned as she looked over the gathered Scoobs. "So, I think you all know why I'm here. I've come to claim some Award, and this kid" she pointed to Sophie, "Said I could get a cheque out of it."

"No I didn't" Sophie frowned.

"You didn't?" Faith frowned, taking a few steps closer.

"No" said Sophie, crossing her arms.

Baby Lily, still nestled safely in Tara's arms, did not realise that the funny lady talking to her big sister was supposed to be scary. So, she reached out and tugged one of the ribbons from Faith's hair, giggling. Faith froze.

"Sorry about that" Tara chuckled as she handed it back. "She's just really into Christmas coloured things lately."

"You've lost your stutter" said Faith quietly.

"Mostly" Tara smiled.

"Well, just the Award then" Faith continued as she quickly walked away, acting as though the short conversation with her old friend hadn't happened. "Come on, cough it up!"

"Not to worry, Holiday Cheermeister" said Riley with a forced smile as he came down from the stage, slinging an arm around Faith's shoulders. "You'll get what's coming to you!"

"Get your arm off me before I break it off" Faith scowled.

"Fair enough, we have had our differences" said Riley, removing his arm. "But before we present your award, I believe it is time for a Family Reunion, don't you?"

"Huh?" said Faith, confused.

"They raised you, fed you, clothed you" Riley continued, "And here they are!"

A beaming Angel and Spike pushed their way through the crowd.

"Ah, crap" Faith frowned as they approached. "No-one's staked you two bozos yet?"

"Is that any way to greet your kinda parent type people? Come here, kid!" chuckled Spike, pulling The Dark Slayer into a too tight hug.

"Can't breath!" Faith gasped.

"Right, sorry" Spike chuckled sheepishly, loosening his grip. "Haven't had to worry about that for a while."

"Look at you, all grown up" said Angel proudly, reaching out to try and fix Faith's slightly unruly hair. "We've missed you. We didn't know if you had anything nice to wear for the ceremony, so we got you this nice sweater!"

A few of the braver Scoobs approached, carrying said sweater.

"Oh no" said Faith, taking a few steps backwards. "No way in Hell."

Unfortunately, she didn't seem to have a choice. Angel, Spike, and the Scoobs pounced, and after a short struggle, Faith emerged now wearing the sweater, which read 'I Heart X-Mas'.

"I hate you" said Faith, glaring at Angel.

"Aww, I love you too" said Angel, thinking she was being sarcastic.

By now, the other Scoobs were beginning to get over their fears, and back into the excitement of the day.

"Let's put her in the Chair of Cheer!" cried Xander.

"What's the Chair of Cheer?" asked Faith, dreading the answer.

"Oh, it's a chair that we bounce the Cheermeister up and down in for no good reason" Spike grinned.

"You!" Faith cried, pointing accusingly at Sophie. "You didn't tell me about any stupid Chair of Cheer! I'm not doin' it!"

"Oh come on Miss Faith, please?" Sophie begged, eyes wide.

"Stupid adorable kid" Faith grumbled. "Maybe I should.. No, I won't do it!"

Unfortunately, She didn't seem to have a choice in this either. The Scoobs once again pounced, and Faith soon found her self in the Chair of Cheer, bouncing up and down.

"Stop!" she cried. "I don't wanna do it, I'm not prepared for it, it's too soon, ah!"

"For at that special time of year, the Cheermeister rides in the Chair of Cheer!" Riley read from the Book of Scoob, looking entirely too pleased with himself.

"Get me down from here!" yelled Faith in protest, as she was carried off through the town. "I mean it, I'll sue! There will be Hell to pay!"

"Mama Tara, I have a bad feeling about this" Sophie sighed.

"So do I" Tara frowned. "Let's catch up and try and get them to take it down a notch."

* * *

><p>Unfortunately by now, the Scoobs were too caught up in the excitement of everything to hear the concerns of two of Scoobville's quieter occupants. So, when the Chair of Cheer was finally set down, Sophie and Tara were just as relieved as Faith. Sadly, they didn't stay that way for long.<p>

"Next, Dear Cheermeister, your tatebuds will be tested as you judge the Annual Scoob Pudding Cook-off!" Riley grinned.

"The what?" Faith frowned.

"Scoob Pudding Cook-off!" Graham repeated.

"Me first!" cried Andrew excitedly, rushing to be first in line. "Mine's good!"

"Now, wait a second" said Faith, panicking a little. "I never really liked.. eugh!" She was cut off as Andrew shoved a forkful of pudding into her mouth without warning.

"Mine is much better!" said a demon named Lorne, shoving in another mouthful before she had even finished the first.

"I hope you like this one!" said Fred, adding yet another.

Faith forced it all down, resisting the urge to throw up.

"This isn't exactly pudding, but my Wife assures me that you'll love it!" said Xander happily.

"Hang on!" The Dark Slayer frowned. "If it's not pudding, then what is it? I'm not eating.." A few surrounding Scoobs grabbed Faith's face and forced her mouth open. "Heygh! Stop tha'!" she yelled, as more and more pudding was forced past her lips.

"This is bad" Sophie groaned.

"Yes" Tara agreed with a sigh. "Yes it is."

* * *

><p>A short while later, Faith sat slumped in the Chair of Cheer, groaning and clutching her stomach. Sadly, her Yuletide suffering was far from over.<p>

"Our next activity is Christmas Conga!" Riley announced, again too cheerful.

Faith's eyes widened in horror.

"It's been fun guys, I should really be going now.." she said quickly.

"But you can't!" cried Riley in mock-sadness. "Christmas Conga is traditionally lead by the Holiday Cheermeister!"

"I'd love too, but.." Faith's breath hitched when Buffy laid her hands on her hips to begin the conga line. "Well, maybe I can stay a little longer" she grinned.

Buffy gave Sophie a wink as the little girl joined the conga line behind her.

Riley scowled.

* * *

><p>"That wasn't so bad, I guess" Faith reluctantly admitted after the conga line broke. "What's next?"<p>

"Fruit cake!" Riley grinned.

"God damn it!" Faith groaned, being forced back into the Chair of Cheer while the Scoobs queued up to force fruitcake down her throat.

* * *

><p>"Fudge judge!" Riley yelled, after all the fruitcake had been tested.<p>

Faith sighed, as she was force-fed the Christmas treats. But as it went on, The Dark Slayer began to realise that she wasn't hating this day as much as she'd expected. In fact, she was almost kind of enjoying it.

"Is that all you got? Come on!" she yelled. "Bring it on, fudge people!"

* * *

><p>Later, Faith participated in a sack race with some of the Scoobs, and she was winning!<p>

"Out of my way!" she yelled, pushing through the racers. "Cheermeister comin' through!"

A roar rose up from the crowd when she crossed the line. Riley clapped half-heartedly.

"She's Number One in the Sack Race Run!" Xander announced, pinning a blue ribbon to Faith's sweater.

"Yeah!" Faith cheered. "I'm Number One, I'm Number One! I can't be beat!" She bragged, pointing to the other competitors. "I beat you, and you, and you.."

Tara high-fived her daughter, who grinned. It was looking bad for a while there, but now it seemed like Sophie's plan was working!

* * *

><p>"Yay!" Sophie cheered.<p> 


	11. Disaster At Scoobilation

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'The Grinch'

* * *

><p>"I wouldn't get too excited, Little Red" Faith chuckled.<p>

"Why?" cried Sophie, throwing her arms in the air. "Why does this always happen?"

"I don't know" Faith shrugged. "It's just the way most stories happen, I guess. And unfortunately, this one is about to take a big turn for the worse.."

* * *

><p>A little while later, Faith stood on the stage at the Town Hall, with Buffy, Graham, and Riley, who frowned, trying to hide his discomfort at the Scoobs' new positive feelings towards Faith as he stepped up to the microphone.<p>

"Well, it's the time you've all been waiting for.."

"Yeah, time for my Award!" chuckled Faith, slinging an arm around Riley's shoulders, leaning in to whisper, "And don't forget the cheque."

"There is no cheque" Riley frowned.

"Are you sure?" said Faith in mock-innocence. "I could have sworn somebody said there was a cheque." She winked at Buffy, who giggled and batted her eyelashes.

"That was you" said Riley, clenching his fists as he watched Buffy's renewed interest in the Dark Slayer. "And there is no cheque!" Seeing the looks of disapproval on some faces in the crowd, he swallowed, trying to calm himself down. "Anyway, it is now time for our Annual Present Pass-It-On, and, as usual, the Cheermeister goes first!"

Faith couldn't help feeling just a little excited as Riley handed her the parcel. It had been a long time since she had received a Christmas present.

Sophie was suddenly not so enthusiastic.

"Mama Tara" she said with a frown, "Does Mayor Riley look a little bit too happy?"

"Yes" said Tara suspiciously, bouncing a grizzling Lily who also seemed to sense something amiss. "He does."

They didn't have to wait long to find out why. Faith ripped open her gift to find Christmas-themed a paint set, just like the one with which she had disastrously made-over her hair all those years before.

"Oh no" Tara sighed, knowing this couldn't end well.

Buffy gasped in disbelief at how Riley could still be so cruel.

Faith's expression was deceptively calm, though her knuckles whitened as they gripped the paint set.

"Good memories, huh?" Riley grinned, slapping Faith on the back. "Next, a special gift for the love of my life.." He turned to Buffy and knelt down on one knee, pulling out a velvet box topped with a sprig of mistletoe, and opening it to reveal a hideously large diamond engagement ring. "Buffy Summers, will you do me the honour of becoming my Wife?"

"Well, I.. what I mean is.." Buffy panicked, still in shock. She tried to meet Faith's eyes, but the Dark Slayer looked away, defeated and heartbroken. Afterall, what could she offer Buffy when she had a chance to marry the guy in charge of the whole town?

"If you agree to be my Wife, Buffy" Riley continued, "You will receive not only a lifetime of happiness, but also.. A brand new car!" The car rose up from beneath the Scoobs feet. "Generously provided by the taxpayers" Riley added at a whisper. "So how about it?"

"Well.." said Buffy nervously, wondering how the hell she was going to get out of this.

"You've got twenty seconds on the clock!" Riley signalled the Scoobville band, who began to play countdown music.

Buffy looked very uncomfortable as the countdown began.

Nobody noticed as Faith slowly headed towards the car.

"Look, Riley" Buffy sighed, "We're kinda friends, I guess, and these gifts are nice and all.."

There was a sudden, ear-splitting screech, and the Scoobs turned to see Faith draging her sharpened nail along the side of the car.

"Of course they're nice" she said, with a cold chuckle. "That's what it's all about right? It's what it's _always _been about! _Gifts. _Gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts, GIFTS!"

The Scoobs gasped and backed away, their new admiration of Faith gone as quickly as it had come.

"And you want to know what's funny about your precious gifts?" The Dark Slayer continued. "Want to know what's _really_ funny? They all end up in the same place.. YOUR GARBAGE!"

The Scoobs backed away further.

"I could hang myself with all the bad Christmas neckties I find down there. It never ends!" Faith cried, throwing her arms in the air. "'I want Putt Putt golf clubs!', 'I want a bicycle!', 'I want that dolly that pees her pants!'"

The other Scoobs gasped again, but Sophie sighed, thinking that Faith had a point.

"And don't even get me started on pets!" Faith continued, frowning. "I have a dog. His name is Echo, and he's the sweetest, most loyal pet anyone could want. And you want to know how I got him? ONE OF YOU DUMPED HIM DOWN THE TRASH CHUTE AT CHRISTMAS!"

Some of the Scoobs looked a little guilty, while the rest just remained frightened.

"But" Faith took a breath, apparently trying to calm herself as she headed back to the stage, "There is one Christmas tradition that I like, and that's mistletoe" she grinned, leaning in close to Buffy before plucking the sprig of mistletoe from the top of the ringbox, then bending over and holding it above her butt. "So pucker up and kiss it, Scoobville!"

Buffy fainted.

Riley marched towards Faith, scowling.. Until crying out in horror when the Dark Slayer smeared a handful of green paint through the middle of his hair.

"Oops" she said, not looking at all sorry. "Oh well, you look fabulous!" Faith laughed, before leaping off the stage into the crowd. The Scoobs panicked, rushing off in all directions.

"Everybody please remain calm!" shouted Police Chief Xander, a few seconds too late.

"Let's get out of here, quick!" said Willow, grabbing Sophie and Tara by the hands and pulling them away.

"No!" cried Sophie.

"Faith, you don't have to do this!" Tara called desperately to her friend. "You're better than him!"

Unfortunately, Faith was beyond reason.

"Mind if I grab a light?" she said, snatching a lighter from Spike's pocket.

"Hey!" said Spike, annoyed.

Faith ignored him. She lit a cigarrette, took a drag, and then flicked the ashes into the giant Christmas tree in the center of the town, setting it ablaze.

"Burn, baby, burn!" Faith cackled.

"Come on, now we really have to go!" yelled Willow in a panic.

"Okay" Tara sighed.

"But.." said Sophie.

"You tried, Sweetie" said Tara sadly, as they rushed into the throng of panicking Scoobs. "There's nothing else we can do now."

As chaos reigned around her, Buffy slowly began to stir.

"Whoa" The blonde looked around, eyes widening as she spotted the flaming tree. "Whoa" she repeated when she saw Riley's hair, trying not to laugh.

"Graham, do something!" Riley cried.

"Uh.." Thinking quickly, Graham grabbed a nearby electric razor, and shaved away the green portion of his Boss' hair.

"That wasn't what I meant!" Riley shrieked.

"Calling all units, calling all units!" Xander called desperately into his megaphone, unable to calm the Scoobs by himself.

"Yo, Taxi!" Faith called. One stopped, but as soon as the driver realised who they had stopped for they zoomed off again, screaming. "It's because I'm gay, isn't it?" she yelled, annoyed, before grabbing a passing car and pulling it to a stop with her Slayer strength. "Hey" she peeked in, grinning at the terrified couple inside. "Mind if I hitch a ride?" The couple fled from the car, also screaming. "Look out, Scoobs!" Faith yelled, jumping in and taking off at an insane speed. "I don't have a license!"

The Dark Slayer drove madly through the streets, causing multiple accidents and adding to the mayhem that her outburst had already caused, before finally crashing into a fire hydrant near the trash chute. She sat up, slightly dazed, before realising that petrol was leaking from the car.

"IT'S GONNA BLOW!" she yelled, running, seemingly in slow motion, and diving down the trash chute back to Mt. Lilbit seconds before the car exploded.

* * *

><p>As the panic died down, the Scoobs began looking around in shock. The town looked like a bomb had hit it. The Christmas tree as destroyed. Scoobilation was ruined.<p>

Mayor Riley was furious.

"Graham, what are the damages?" he asked.

"Aside from the tree, some cars, and a few buildings, thankfully not that much" Graham replied.

"Wonderful" said Riley, rolling his eyes, before turning to the ones he believed to be responsible for the whole mess. "Willow?"

"Yes?" said Willow nervously, pushing Sophie behind her.

"I'm disappointed, Willow, and that doesn't come easily for me" said Riley. "But your daughter.. Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this sort of thing coming from a child of yours, what with your little episode a few years back.."

Willow's cheeks reddened, and she bowed her head in shame.

"Hey!" Tara snapped, "You promised to never judge us on that!"

"You are just as much to blame, Tara" said Riley haughtily. "Everybody knows that you used to be friends with The Dark Slayer. You probably filled poor Sophie's head with stories about how she's 'not as bad as everyone thinks'."

"My Mama Tara didn't do anything!" Sophie cried, fighting back the tears that pricked the corners of her eyes. "I just.."

"Let's just get back to Christmas, the way it should be" Riley snapped, holding up a hand to silence the little girl. "Faith-less!"

"Well, actually.." said Graham.

"Shut up!" Riley scowled, as he and his assistant walked away.

The crowd of Scoobs turned to glare at poor little Sophie. Buffy, Angel, and Spike were among the few sympathetic faces.

"I.. I just wanted everybody to be together for Christmas" said Sophie, taking a few steps backwards as tears began to stream down her cheeks. "This isn't what I wanted.. This isn't what I wanted!" She turned and ran away, sobbing.

"Sophie!" Tara cried, pushing Lily into Willow's arms before running after her, "Sophie, Honey, this isn't your fault.."

"It's okay, we found the spare Christmas Tree!" Xander announced, as he, Andrew, and Jonathan appeared, carrying said tree. As he saw the other Scoobs, he realised he had obviously missed something. "Uh.. Merry Christmas?"

* * *

><p>Sophie ran into her room and threw herself onto her bed, still sobbing. Tara entered soon after, sitting and scooping her daughter into her arms.<p>

"I still don't think Faith is bad, Mama Tara" Sophie cried against her Mother's shoulder. "Do you think Faith is bad?"

"No" said Tara. "I never have. But.."

"But what?" said Sophie, wiping her eyes.

"Well, I've kind of been wondering what changed your mind."

"She saved me" Sophie explained, sniffling. "When I was at the Post Office with Mommy Willow I fell into the Sorting Machine, and Faith was there, and she saved me. She wouldn't have done that if she was bad."

"No, she wouldn't" said Tara with a smile. Sophie's story had just confirmed what she already knew- The Dark Slayer's heart was not as small as she liked to believe. Sophie had somehow reached it, and that meant there was still hope.

* * *

><p>"Yay!" cried Sophie.<p>

* * *

><p>AN: Hi! Hope all of you had a nice Christmas. I came down with a nasty gastro in the week before Christmas, and then my family hosted Christmas lunch, so I've been very short on time. However, I am well now, and I promise to get this and my 'Scoobies: The Santa Experience fic done as soon as possible so I can get back to work on my other stories.<p> 


	12. The Plot To Steal Christmas

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'The Grinch'.

AN: I know I haven't mentioned Faith's last name at all in this story, but it was the best fit for the song, so just go with it, okay?"

* * *

><p>"Uh.."<p>

"Not 'yay'?" Sophie sighed.

"Not really, no.."

* * *

><p>Faith looked down from Mt. Lilbit, scowling, as the Scoobs erected the spare tree.<p>

"Ugh, they're relentless!"

_Staring down from her cave with a sour Slayer frown,_

_At the warm lighted window's below in their town,_

_For she knew every Scoob down in Scoobville beneath, _

_Was busy now,_

_Hanging a mistletoe wreath._

"And they're hanging their stockings!"

_She snarled with a sneer._

"Tomorrow is Christmas, it's practically here!"

_Then she growled with her dark fingers nervously drumming. _

"I must find a way to keep Christmas from coming!"

_Yes, Faith knew tomorrow all the Scoob girls and boys,_

_Would wake bright and early and rush to their toys._

"And then, oh the noise!" Faith groaned, "Oh the noise, noise, noise, noise! If there's one thing I hate, it's that NOISE, NOISE, NOISE! They'll bang on tong-tinglers, they'll blow their floo-flounders, they'll crash on jang-jinglers and bounce on boing-bounders!"

_Then the Scoobs young and old,_

_Would sit down to a feast._

"And they'd feast, feast, feast, FEAST!" Faith screeched, kicking a pile of snow. "They'll start on Scoob pudding, and rare Scoob roat beast.. It's something that I just can't stand in the least! And then they'll do something I hate most of all." She paused, before continuing in a mocking tone. "Every Scoob down in Scoobville, the tall and the small, will stand close together, with Christmas bells ringing. They'll stand hand in hand, and the Scoobs will start singing! And they'll sing, and they'll sing, and they'll SING, SING, SING, SING!" Faith's eyes suddenly widened in horror. "Look what they've done to me!" She dropped to her knees. "I'm speakin' in rhyme!" She punched the ground. "Damn you, Scoobs! Damn you all!"

_And the more that Faith thought of what Christmas would bring,_

_The more she decided.._

"I must stop this whole thing!" The Dark Slayer growled. "For year after year I've put up with it now! I have to stop Christmas from coming.. But how?" Then, realising she had rhymed yet again, quickly corrected herself. "I mean, uh, in what way?"

Faith stood up and marched into her cave... Where she found Echo, jumping around on his back paws dancing to Christmas music. He stopped when he saw his Master's expression, instantly knowing that her visit to Scoobville hadn't gone well.

"Hey, Echo" she greeted coldly. "You havin' a holly jolly Christmas?"

* * *

><p>A few seconds later, Echo came flying out of the cave, leaving a dog shaped crater in the deep snow. Another few seconds later, a mildly remorseful Faith came to fish him out. He was all she had, after all.<p>

"Okay, that may have been a little harsh, but I've had a rough day and.." Faith paused. The snow stuck to Echo's muzzle looked kind nof like a beard. She grinned wickedly.

_Then she got an idea,_

_An awful idea._

_Faith got a wonderful, awful idea!_

"I know just what to do!"

_Faith laughed in her throat._

Faith rushed back inside, gathering some red cloth, cotton wool, and an old sewing machine from among her junk pile.

_And she made a quick Sandy claws hat and a coat._

Which, it had to be said, was a pretty good effort considering Faith had no idea how to use a sewing machine. The only minor setback came when she sewed her fingers to the material and briefly passed out.

_And she chuckled and clucked,_

"What a great Slayer trick!" Faith grinned, surveying herself in the mirror as she tried on the outfit. "With this coat and this hat, I'll look just like Saint Nick! Ho, ho, ho!"

**_You're a mean one,_**

**_Miss Lehane_**

Faith snarled into the mirror.

_**You really are a heel.**_

Faith and Echo began gathering materials with which to build a sleigh.

_**You're as cuddly as a cactus,**_

_**And as charming as an eel,**_

_**Miss Lehane.**_

_**You're a bad banana, **_

_**with a greasy black peel!**_

The Dark Slayer began putting her sleigh together, grinning.

_**Just face the music,**_

_**You're a monster,**_

_**Miss Lehane.**_

_**Your heart's an empty hole!**_

Faith turned on a blowtorch to weld some parts together, and accidentally set Echo's tail on fire. The poor dog howled in pain, rushing outside to extinguish the flame in the snow.

_**Your brain is full of spiders, **_

_**You've got garlic in your soul,**_

_**Miss Lehane.**_

Echo, now sporting a bandage on the end of his tail, carried a wrench to his Master.

"No, no, no, I wanted the 3/4 wrench!" Faith snapped. "Jeez, Echo, do you want me to screw this up?"

Echo gave a doggy sigh, taking the wrench back.

**_I wouldn't touch you,_**

**_With a 39 foot pole!_**

The Sleigh was now complete. Faith was sitting in it dressed like a crash test dummy. She gave Echo a thumbs up.

Echo whined, covering his eyes with his paws.

Faith started the engine, sending the sleigh zooming into a target on the wall, and herself flying into a junk pile.

_**If you ask the Scoobs of Scoobville,**_

_**No-one will deny it..**_

"Well, the airbags are a little slow" a dishevelled Faith groaned as she dug herself out, "But that's what the'se tests are for!"

_**You're a vile one,**_

_**Miss Lehane.**_

_**You've got termites in your smile!**_

Faith, back in her Santa outfit, grinned into the mirror, revealing that she did in fact have termites stuck in her teeth.

_**You've got all the tender sweetness,**_

_**Of a seasick crocodile.**_

Faith added some final adjustments to the sleigh, cackling evilly.

_**If I had to choose between you..**_

_**I'd take the seasick crocodile!**_

* * *

><p>Later, Faith looked down on Scoobville through a pair of binoculars, watching as the real Santa Claus delivered his presents.<p>

Echo whined. If they really had to do this, he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

"We can't go yet!" Faith snapped. "We have to wait until Santa's finished. Why's the fat guy taking so long anyway? And while I think of it, how come _he _never gets any crap for only coming out one night a year. For all we know, he probably lives up North to avoid the IRS."

As they continued to watch, Santa finally finished his deliveries, and took off into the night with his reindeer-drawn sleigh.

"Damn it!" Faith groaned as she realised something. "I forgot the stinkin' reindeer."

_The Dark Slayer looked around,_

_But since reindeer are scarce,_

_There were none to be found._

_But did that stop Faith?_

Echo did not like the grin that crossed over his Master's face when she looked at him. He slowly backed away, heading for the cave.

_No, she simply said.._

"If I can't find a reindeer, I'll make one instead." She grinned. "Oh, Echo?" she called in an entirely too sweet tone.

Echo winced, then hesitated a few moments before padding back to his Master's side, resigned to his fate. She would have found him eventually anyway.

* * *

><p>Back inside the cave, Faith broke the antler of a deer head in the trash pile.<p>

_So she called her dog Echo,_

_Then took some red thread,_

_And tied a big horn on top of his head._

Echo, wearing the horn, as well as a big red clown nose, felt very stupid.

"Okay, Echo, here's your motivation" said Faith, having temporarily ditched her Santa hat in favor of a Director's cap. "Your name is Rudolph, you're a freak with a red nose and nobody likes you. Then one day, Santa picks you and you save Christmas!"

Echo cocked his head in confusion.

"Yeah, you're right. That whole 'Saving Christmas' ending is too commercial" Faith frowned. "Let's go with 'You hate Christmas so much you want to steal it' instead." She sat in a director's chair, and pulled out a megaphone. "Action!"

Echo swiped his red nose off with a paw, hoping his Master would realise how stupid this whole plan was.

Faith frowned, then grinned.

"Alright! You rejected your nose 'cause it was a symbol of commercialism! Why didn't I think of that before?"

Echo gave an annoyed growl. Faith had missed the point once again.

"Come on, boy, get in the sleigh!" The Dark Slayer called as she jumped in herself.

Echo reluctantly hopped up beside her, before the sleigh zoomed off down the Mountain.

"Those Scoobs won't know what hit 'em!"

* * *

><p>"Uh-oh" said Sophie.<p> 


	13. Faithy Claus Strikes

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'The Grinch'.

* * *

><p>"Yeah, uh oh" Faith agreed. "Especially since Faith had kinda lost control of the sleigh as soon as it was airborne.."<p>

* * *

><p>"We're gonna die! We're gonna die!" Faith shrieked, covering her eyes as the sleigh zipped uncontrollably through the sky, and went for a few loop-de-loops. "I'm gonna throw up, and then I'm gonna die!"<p>

Echo rolled his eyes at his Master's behaviour, then somehow managed to take control of the sleigh himself.

Faith peeked out between her fingers, then relaxed.

"Phew" she said, relieved. "Good thing we didn't panic."

Echo glared at her.

* * *

><p><em>All their windows were dark,<em>

_Quiet snow filled the air,_

_All the Scoobs were dreaming sweet dreams without care.._

_When she came to the first little house on the square._

The very house, it turned out, that belonged to Faith's former best friend and her family. The Sleigh clattered to a stop on their roof.

Willow's eyes shot open.

"Tara?" she whispered, gently shaking her wife awake.

"Yeah?" said Tara sleepily.

"I just heard something outside.. should I go check it out?"

"No, silly!" Tara gasped, eyes widening. "It's Santa! Quick, go back to sleep!"

They snuggled together, eyes squeezed tightly shut.

* * *

><p>"Come on, Echo" said Faith, grabbing a huge sack and heading for the chimney. "This is our first stop."<p>

_The old Faithy Claus hissed,_

_As she climbed to the roof,_

_empty bags in her fist._

Echo whined, getting out of the sleigh even more reluctantly than he had gotten in. Of course it was wrong to be stealing Christmas from anyone, but Echo had caught the scent of Sophie in the house beneath their feet, and he thought it was even more wrong for Faith to be stealing Christmas from the person who had tried to save it for her.

_She'd slide down the chimney,_

_A rather tight place,_

_But if Santa could do it,_

_Then so could Faith._

Echo watched sadly as his master attatched a bungee cord to her feet, leaving him holding the other end in his jaws.

Faith ran for the chimney and dove in.. Only to get stuck halfway, her feet waving in the air.

_She got stuck only once,_

_For a moment or two.._

"Stupid Scoobs, feedin' me all that cake and fudge.." Faith grumbled, eventually wriggling herself free and falling into the logs below.

_Then she stuck her head out of the fireplace flue,_

_Where the little Scoob stockings hung all in a row._

Faith glared at them, too angry and caught up in her plan to pay any attention to the familiar names lovingly sewn into the hem of each one.

"The stockings.."

_She grinned,_

"Are the first things to go." Faith pulled a container of hungry moths from her pocket, opening it to let them swarm upon the stockings. Faith then crawled back up the chimney to fetch a giant vacuum cleaner, which she used to suck up every last present from under the tree, back to her sack in the sleigh. She cackled evilly.

* * *

><p>Upstairs, Sophie began to stir due to the noise. She frowned, wondering what was going on..<p>

* * *

><p><em>Then she slunk to the fridge..<em>

Faith headed into the kitchen and jerked the fridge open, grinning wickedly at all the Christmas fare stuffed inside.

_She eyed the Scoob's feast._

_She took the Scoob pudding, _

_She took the roast beast._

"22, 24, 50, hike!" yelled Faith, football-throwing the roast beast into another sack, before starting on the rest of the kitchen.

_She cleaned out that ice-box as quick as a flash._

_That Dark Slayer even took their last can of Scoob hash!_

* * *

><p>As the noises downstairs continued, Sophie crept out of bed to investigate.<p>

* * *

><p>Faith dragged the sack of food back to the fireplace.<p>

_Then,_

_She stuffed all the food up the chimney with glee._

"And now"

_Grinned Faith,_

"I'll stuff up the tree!"

_And Faith grabbed the tree,_

_And she started to shove,_

_When she heard a small sound,_

_Like the coo of a dove.._

"Santa?"

Faith yelped, alarmed to recognise Sophie's voice. That kid could ruin everything! The Dark Slayer quickly moved behind the part of the tree that wasn't stuck up the chimney yet.

_Faith had been caught by this little Scoob daughter,_

_Who'd got out of bed for a cup of cold water._

"Where are you taking our tree?" asked Sophie, confused.

Faith panicked, chewing her nails for a moment before thinking of a plan.

_But you know,_

_That Dark Slayer was so smart and so slick, _

_She thought up a lie,_

_And she thought it up quick._

Faith poked her arms out from behind the tree, and mimicked what she thought Santa's voice would sound like.

"Why, my sweet little tot."

_The fake Santa Claus lied._

"There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side" Faith tweaked one of the lightbulbs.

Sophie giggled.

"So I'm taking it home to my workshop, My Dear" Faith chuckled, happy that Sophie seemed to be falling for her ruse.

Sophie giggled some more, though she did wonder why Santa Claus sounded so familiar.

"I'll fix it up there" Faith pointed up the Chimney "And bring it back here."

"Okay." Sophie paused, thinking for a moment. If anybody could answer her question, it was the Spirit Of Christmas himself. "Hey, Santa?"

"Yeah?"

"What's the true meaning of Christmas?"

"VENGEANCE!" Faith roared, poking her face through the tree.

Sophie yelped, jumping backwards.

"I mean, uh.." Faith drew back, quickly correcting herself. "Presents, I guess."

"Oh" Sophie sighed. "I was afraid you were gonna say that.."

_And her fib fooled the child,_

_Then she patted her head,_

_And she got her a drink, _

_Then sent her to bed._

"You go on up to bed quickly now, okay?" Faith chuckled, handing Sophie a glass of water.

"Okay, Thank you" Sophie began to head back upstairs, then stopped. "Santa?"

"What now?" said Faith, sounding impatient.

"Don't forget about Miss Faith on Mount Lilbit."

Faith was surprised. Did the kid really still care, even after everything she'd done?

"She may be a little mean, and grumpy, and kinda smelly" Sophie continued. "Her hands might be cold and clammy.."

Faith glanced shamefully at her hands.

"But she's only really mean 'cause everybody was so mean to her when she was little. Deep down, I think she's really.. sweet."

Faith gave a small, sad smile from behind the tree.

"You think she's sweet, huh?"

"Yeah" Sophie smiled back. "Merry Christmas, Santa."

_And when Sophie went up with her cup.._

"Nice kid" Faith sighed. "She's so much like Tara.." For a second, the Dark Slayer almost let guilt grip her.. almost. "They're both really bad judges of character!"

_Faith went to the chimney,_

_And stuffed the tree up._

* * *

><p>On the roof, Echo had to quickly dodge the tree to avoid being crushed as it flew into the sleigh.<p>

* * *

><p>Faith snatched the Yule log from the fire blace before crawling back up the chimney.<p>

_And the last thing he took was the log for their fire._

_On their walls she left nothing but hooks and some wire._

_And the one speck of food that she'd left in the house,_

_Was a crumb that was even too small for a mouse._

* * *

><p>In another house, Faith slithered around under a rug, stealthily grabbing things.<p>

_Then she slithered and slunk,_

_With a smile most unpleasant,_

_Around each Scoob home,_

_And she took every present._

* * *

><p>In yet another house, a saw cut a hole in the floor around a Christmas tree and some presents, sending them crashing down. Faith poked her head through the hole, grinning.<p>

"We've got a sale here, people. Everything must go!"

* * *

><p>Faith got a little lazy, so at the next house, she just used her giant vacuum again. Unfortunately, this happened to be the home of a man named Rupert Giles, who had recently, for research purposes of course, had come into possession of an undead cat dubbed 'Patches', who was accidently sucked into Faith's vaccuum. The vacuum sputtered and began to smoke.<p>

"What the hell?" yelled Faith, annoyed. She pulled the vacuum back up and peeked down the nozzle.. At which point Patches flew out and attatched himself to her face. "Ah! Get it off, get it off!"

If dogs could laugh, Echo would have been in hysterics.

* * *

><p>Soon, Faithy Claus, her face now a little scratched up, visited Buffy's house, and quietly crept into her bedroom. She attempted to glare at the sleeping blonde, but somehow found herself smiling instead. Buffy looked so beautiful and peaceful when she was asleep.. Faith shook her head, steeling herself as she remembered what she had come here to do. She snatched the oversized engagement ring from the bedside table, and turned to leave. She then paused and turned back, pulling some funny faces at the slumbering Buffy. Buffy seemed to smile, and Faith smiled back..<p>

"Damn it, what am I doing?" The Dark Slayer groaned as she headed out the door. "She's marryin' Riley.."

* * *

><p>And speaking of Riley, his was the next home to receive a visit from The Dark Slayer and her canine assistant. Riley, being the Mayor, obviously had quite a bit more stuff than Scoobville's regular citizens, so Faith had brought Echo down with her to help steal it.<p>

For some reason, Echo felt extremely uncomfortable in this house, so after stealing everything they needed to steal, the dog was keen to get out of there.

Faith? Not so much. Hearing Riley talk in his sleep, The Dark Slayer smirked and headed for his bedroom, wanting to have some fun with her rival.

Echo glanced longingly at the fireplace before following.

"Hey, Buffy" Riley mumbled as he slept. "Have you ever kissed a man who's had his tonsils out twice?"

"No" said Faith, in a terrible imitation of Buffy. She picked up Echo, who struggled. "But it's an experience I've always longed for!"

Riley puckered his lips.

"Kiss me, you fool!" Faith grinned wickedly, lowering Echo's rear end towards Riley's mouth.

Echo yelped and sprang from his Master's arms, rubbing his butt over the floor to get rid of the Riley germs. As he did this, he couldn't help thinking that Faith was being kinda stupid to not notice one very important fact revealed in Riley's sleep. If he was asking his dream-Buffy if she'd ever kissed a man who'd had his tonsils out twice, then she obviously hadn't kissed him in real life.

Faith, unfortunately, was too focused on trying not to laugh out loud about making Riley kiss dog butt.

* * *

><p>Faith snatched some sugar plums from a poor child's dream.<p>

* * *

><p>She swung from house to house, Tarzan-like, on a string of Christmas lights, stealing the wreaths off everybody's front door.<p>

* * *

><p>She opened a cupboard and found herself once again attacked by Patches, who had somehow got in there.<p>

* * *

><p>When her Christmas crime spree was finally over, Faith returned to the sleigh, which was now weighted down with a huge sack of loot.<p>

"This was the greatest idea I've ever had!" Faith boasted as she started the engine. "I can't wait to see the looks on those stupid Scoobs faces when they wake up and find everythin' gone!"

The Sleigh rose a few metres into the air, then crashed back down, unable to cope with the weight of the sack.

Echo glanced at Faith, hopeful. If the sleigh couldn't fly, then they couldn't steal Christmas.

Faith had other ideas. She held up a sled-dog harness.

"What're you so happy about, Rudolph?"

* * *

><p>"Poor Echo" Sophie sighed.<p> 


	14. The True Meaning Of Christmas

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'The Grinch'.

AN: Virtual cookies to those who can guess why Echo was uncomfortable in Riley's house last chapter!

* * *

><p>"Yeah, poor Echo" Faith agreed.<p>

"Why is Story-Faith being so mean to him?" Sophie frowned. "I thought she loved him."

"She does. It all comes back to the heart two sizes too small thing" Faith tried to explain. "She's got enough room in it to know that she loves Echo, but not enough to show it properly."

"Okay.. So what happened next?"

"Well.."

* * *

><p>"Come on, boy, you can do it!" Faith cheered Echo on as he hauled the sleigh up Mt. Lilbit.<p>

_3000 feet,_

_Up the side of Mt. Lilbit,_

_Faith rode with her load to the tip-top to ditch it._

They reached the peak just as the Sun peeked up over the horizon.

Faith whooped as she unclipped Echo's harness.

The poor dog collapsed from exhaustion.

"We did it!" Faith cried as she leapt from the sleigh, leaving it teetering on the mountain top. "We did it, we did it, we did it!" she chanted in a sing-song voice, turning to the exhausted Echo. "See, that wasn't so bad!"

Echo raised his head slightly, then whimpered and flopped back into the snow.

"Well, pooh to the Scoobs!"

_She was Slayer-ishly humming._

"They're finding out now that no Christmas is coming!"

Echo gave another sad whimper.

"They're waking up now, and I know just what they'll do" Faith grinned wickedly. "Their mouths will hang open a moment or two.. Then the Scoobs down in Scoobville will cry, 'Boo-hoo-hoo!'"

* * *

><p>The scene in Scoobville was tragically similar to the one Faith described. The Scoobs woke, shocked to find everything gone. They rushed into the streets, all wondering whether they were the only one.<p>

"My decorations!" cried Lorne in despair.

"My food!" cried Andrew.

"We've been robbed!" shrieked Xander's girlfriend, Anya, as they rushed outside. "Xander, call the Police!"

"Ahn, Honey, I am the Police, remember?" Xander sighed, heading for his Police car so he could get to work investigating what exactly had happened.

What Xander didn't know was that the previous night, after Faith had recovered from her 'I made Riley kiss dog butt' giggle fit, she had attatched a rope to the Mayor Of Scoobville's bed. The other end had been attatched to the back of Xander's car. So, when Xander drove off, Mayor Riley received a very rude awakening when he and his bed came crashing out the wall of his home.

Riley screamed like a girl as he was dragged through the town.

Unfortunately, it took Xander until the Town Square to realise that this had happened, assuming that the screaming came from another woman whose house had been robbed. When he did, he quickly stopped.

"Oops" he chuckled sheepishly.

Riley surveyed the town, taking in the sight of the un-decorated buildings, and the present-less Scoobs gathering in the Square.

"Well" he said sarcastically as he got out of bed. "Who could be responsible for this?" Of course, he knew exactly who was responsible. "I tried to warn you people. Invite the Dark Slayer, destroy Christmas. Invite the Dark Slayer, DESTROY CHRISTMAS!" Riley shrieked. "But did you listen to me, your rightfully elected Mayor?"

"I did" Graham piped up.

"No!" Riley continued, ignoring him. "You took the opinion of a little, not to be taken seriously, girl, who's not even in the first grade yet!" He pointed accusingly at Sophie, standing with her family. The little girl was already in tears. "Christmas is ruined, because of you. I hope you're proud of what you've done."

Tara glared at Riley, stroking Sophie's hair as she sobbed into her shirt, while Lily whimpered in her other arm.

Willow frowned, looking between the retreating Mayor of Scoobville, and her teary-eyed little girl. She stood back and watched as he tore into her once. She wasn't going to do it again.

"If she isn't" said the Wicca, laying a hand on her daughter's shoulder, "Then I am. I couldn't be more proud. And.. I'm happy that Faith took our presents."

The Scoobs gasped.

"What?" Riley spun around.

"I'm happy that Faith took the presents" Willow repeated, unashamed.

"You're _happy_?" Riley spat. "You're happy that everything's gone? That Christmas has been completely destroyed?"

"See, that's where you're wrong, Riley" Willow continued. "You can't hurt Christmas, because it's not about gifts, or feasts, or who has the best Christmas lights."

Tara blushed, slightly ashamed. Buffy's face had also turned a faint shade of pink.

"It's about the Christmas spirit" Willow turned to address the crowd of Scoobs. "That's what Sophie's been trying to tell us.. To tell me." she finished sheepishly.

"Are you insane?" Riley yelled. "She's a child!"

"She's _my _child" said Willow, poking Riley in the chest. "And she's right, by the way." The witch turned back to embrace her Wife and daughters. "I've got everything I need for Christmas right here.. My family."

"Aww, come here you" Tara grinned, pulling her Wife into a kiss.

The Scoobs cheered, beginning to greet each other with cries of 'Merry Christmas!'.

Sophie watched them all, grinning.. Until she realised that the 'Merry Christmases' of a certain blonde neighbour of hers were less enthusiastic than everyone else's, and that said blonde neighbour kept glancing sadly in the direction of Mt. Lilbit.

Sophie clenched her fists, determined. Christmas wasn't complete yet.

"Mommy Willow, Mama Tara, I have to.."

"Go" Willow nodded, smiling.

"Go bring her home" said Tara, crouching to hug her daughter.

Sophie grinned, speeding off towards the trash chute.

* * *

><p>"Weeeeee!" Sophie cried as she flew out onto Mt. Lilbit. She saw the sleigh perched high on the mountain. "Faith!" she called, heading up towards it. "Miss Faith?"<p>

* * *

><p>"Time to finish the job!" The Dark Slayer grinned as she prepared to push the sleigh over the peak. "I can't wait to hear the cries of those stupid Scoobs. They'll be music to my ears!"<p>

Echo whined sadly. Then, his ears pricked up as he heard a familiar sound. A few seconds later, Faith heard it too.

"What the hell?"

_Then Faith heard a sound rising over the snow._

_It started out low,_

_Then it started to grow._

_But the sound wasn't sad,_

_Why,_

_This sound was merry!_

_It couldn't be so, but it was merry, very!_

"No" Faith shook her head in disbelief, leaving the unbalanced sleigh and heading back to her cave to get a view of Scoobville. "No way!"

Yes way. Faith looked down on Scoobville to see the somehow happy townsfolk gathered around the tree in the center of town, the one thing she hadn't been able to steal.

_Every Scoob down in Scoobville, _

_The tall and the small,_

_Was singing,_

_Without any presents at all!_

_She hadn't stopped Christmas from coming,_

_It came!_

"Somehow or other, it came just the same!" Faith growled, stomping her feet.

* * *

><p>"Faith!" Sophie called again, somehow bypassing Faith as she continued up. The little girl saw the precariously perched sleigh and ran towards it, grinning.<p>

* * *

><p><em>And Faith,<em>

_Her Dark Slayer-feet cold in the snow,_

_Stood puzzling and puzzling.._

"How could it be so?" she frowned. She grabbed Echo, shaking him slightly as though he had the answer. "It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes, or bags!" Faith slapped her forehead, as if willing herself to know why her plan failed.

_And she puzzled and puzzled, _

_'Til her puzzler was sore._

Faith looked up with wide eyes and set Echo down, having a moment of enlightenment.

_Then Faith thought of something she hadn't before._

"Maybe Christmas.."

_She thought,_

"Doesn't come from a store.. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more." A smile spread over Faith's face, and tears spilled from her eyes. She collapsed to the ground, clutching at her chest, crying and laughing all at once.

Echo whined and stepped closer to his Master, concerned.

"Echo.." Faith reached a hand out towards the dog. "What's happenin' to me?"

_And what happened next?_

_Well in Scoobville they say,_

_The Dark Slayer's heart grew three sizes that day._

Faith sat up, gazing in awe at the rising Sun.

"I.. I feel all warm and toasty inside, and.." she touched her tear-dampened cheeks, "I'm leakin'." She laughed and turned to Echo. Her wonderful, loyal, beautiful, Echo. "Echo, come here boy."

Echo cocked his head to one side, confused about what was happening.

"I love you, Echo."

The dog's eyes lit up, and he pounced on Faith, happily licking her face.

"I love ya, boy!" Faith laughed. "I love ya! Ha ha!" The Dark Slayer and her dog rolled played in the snow for a few more minutes, before she gently pushed him off. "That's enough. One step at a time, okay?"

Echo yipped and wagged his tail.

A gust of wind blew, followed by a terrible groan. The wind was pushing the sleigh closer to the edge!

"The presents!" Faith cried. "They'll all be destroyed.. And I care!" The Dark Slayer began racing back to the sleigh, Echo at her side. "This can't happen! It shouldn't! It couldn't! It mustn't, it wouldn't!" She didn't even care that she was rhyming. "Not now, not then, not ever again!"

The sleigh made another lurch forward, and Faith dove, catching hold of it just in time. She tried to drag it back to more stable ground, but it was no use. She strained every muscle in her body, but the Sleigh continued it's agonisingly slow slide forward. Faith's feet suddenly gave way, and Echo panicked and latched onto her pants with hiss jaws. If they weren't careful, the sleigh was going to take them over the peak with it. The Dark Slayer was just about to give up.

"It's only toys, right?" she reasoned with herself. "I mean, it's not like there's anythin' precious or irreplaceable up there.."

"Hi, Faith!"

The Dark Slayer's heart dropped at the sound of the horribly familiar voice.

"Sophie!" Faith gasped in horror, seeing the little girl perched on the very top of the huge sack. "What the hell are you doin' up there?"

"I came to see you" Sophie replied, smiling the lopsided smile that mirrored Tara's. "Nobody should be alone on Christmas."

Faith's newly expanded heart glowed at the little girl's words. She smiled back up at her, but their happiness was shortlived. The sleigh slid forward again, leaving it half dangling over the cliff. Sophie screamed.

"Hang on, kid!" Faith yelled as her mind went into overdrive, trying to think of some sort of plan. "Can ya jump? I'll catch you, I promise!"

"I c-can't, it's t-too high!" Sophie stuttered, again reminding Faith of Tara.

Tara. Her best friend. The one who had sent the photos, and, Faith realised, packages of food and clothes down the trash chute for all the years she'd lived up here. The one who had put up with her anti-Christmas behaviour when they were kids, and always given her a present anyway, even though Faith never gave one back. Aside from her flaming red hair, Sophie was Tara's double. Faith felt a new wave of strength wash over her. She was not going to let anything happen to that kid. She struggled to her feet, still gripping the sleigh, and, successfully this time, began to lift it.

_And when the true meaning of Christmas came through,_

_Faith found the strength of ten Slayers,_

_Plus two!_

With a mighty roar, Faith lifted the Sleigh right over her head.

"I've got ya Sophie!"

"Yay!" Sophie cheered. "You did it!"

* * *

><p>"Yay!" the real Sophie echoed.<p> 


	15. New Beginnings

Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, or 'The Grinch'.

An: Final chapter, everyone. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Uh-huh" Faith grinned.<p>

"Really this time?" asked Sophie warily.

"Yup."

"Yay!"

Faith chuckled, then continued.

* * *

><p>"Woohoo!" Faith was riding behind the Sleigh on a pair of skis, while Sophie sat up front with Echo, steering the sleigh as it thundered down the mountain.<p>

Echo questioned his Master's decision to let a five-year old drive, but since she'd lived alone with him on a mountain since age eight, he figured she was entitled to a few dodgy judgement calls.

"This is fun!" Sophie giggled.

"Damn right, kid!" Faith beamed. "Look, spread eagle!" Faith did a split in mid-air as the sleigh flew over a bump, grinning proudly as she landed. "Nailed it!" Unfortunately, the Dark Slayer then hit a rock and flew high up into the air, landing with a thump atop the sleigh before sliding down to sit between Sophie and Echo.

"Are you okay?" asked Sophie, concerned.

"Are you nuts?" Faith laughed. "The Sun is bright and the powder's bitchin'.. I mean, uh.. Don't tell your Moms I said that."

Sophie giggled.

"I'm serious!" Faith frowned. "Now scoot over, it's my turn to drive."

_And the minute her heart didn't feel quite so tight,_

_She whizzed with her load through the bright morning light._

Before long, the sleigh-riders were approaching Scoobville.

"Better put on the brake" said Faith, activating the brake, which was a boot on a stick attatched to the front of the sleigh. It promptly snapped off. "Crap."

"We're going to crash!" cried Sophie in panic.

Echo whimpered.

"Hey, listen here you two" said Faith, wagging a stern finger, "Even if we're horribly mangled.. There'll be no sad faces on Christmas."

Sophie grinned.

The sleigh continued to hurtle uncontrollably towards Scoobville.

* * *

><p>The Scoobs, still mingling throughout the town, looked up at the sound of the approaching sleigh.<p>

"Help!" yelled the voice of a familiar little girl.

"Sophie!" cried Tara.

"Yeah, what the kid said!"

"Faith!" Buffy gasped.

"Come on, I have an idea!" Tara gestured for Buffy to follow her, all rivalry between them forgotten as they raced to save their loved ones.

Willow, calculating the direction in which the sleigh was headed, shoved Lily at Andrew and rushed off, forming her own back-up plan for if Tara's failed.

* * *

><p>Thankfully, there were so many Christmas lights that it wouldn't have been practical for Faith to steal them, so she had simply cut off the town's power supply instead.<p>

When she and Buffy reached their homes, Tara began madly pulling the strings of lights down.

"Grab an end!"

Buffy nodded, and quickly set about helping.

"For the record, I've always thought your lights were the.."

"Not now, Buffy!"

* * *

><p>"Everybody out of the way!" Faith yelled as the sleigh entered town. "I've got no insurance, and I haven't got a licence!"<p>

"You haven't got a licence?" Sophie cried.

"Hey, neither do you, and you had no problem drivin'.. Move, people!" Many of the Scoobs obeyed The Dark Slayer's order, but Tara and Buffy did the opposite. Each one of them held one end of the rope of lights, stretching it out in front of the sleigh in hopes to stop it or slow it down.

The sleigh hit the lights.. and continued speeding on, now dragging the screaming Tara and Buffy along behind it.

Sophie's eye's suddenly widened in horror. The Sleigh was heading for the giant tree in the Town Square, and for Willow, who was standing right in front of it.

"Mommy Willow, get out of the way!" cried Sophie.

"Yeah, Red, move it!" Faith yelled.

Willow didn't move. She threw her hands up in what seemed like a vain attempt at stopping the Sleigh, apparently concentrating hard.

"Come on.." she groaned in frustration. "Come on.. Figures, the one time I really need my stupid dark powers, and they quit on me.."

Thinking that their situation was hopeless, Faith threw herself over Sophie, to protect the little girl from the impact of the crash, and possible trauma of seeing her Mother crushed by the sleigh. Echo covered his eyes with his paws. They needn't have worried.

For a split second, Willow's eyes flashed black, and that was enough.

"STOP!" the Witch boomed.

The Sleigh screeched to a halt. Tara and Buffy let out gasps of relief, and while they looked a little worse for wear, neither had suffered any serious injuries from their ordeal. A few bits of debris had flown up and torn some holes in Faith's suit, some getting right through and leaving small cuts in her skin. Wounds, Willow realised, that Sophie would likely have suffered without Faith's intervention. The Dark Slayer hadn't yet moved from her position, still draped protectively over her.

"Faith.." Willow reached up and tapped her friend's shoulder. They were friends now, how couldn't they be after what Faith had just done for her daughter?

Faith slowly looked up, blinking in shock.

"Mommy Willow!" cried Sophie happily, leaping from the sleigh into her Mother's arms.

"Hey, Sweetie" Willow grinned.

"Holy crap, Red" said Faith as she jumped from the sleigh herself, Echo close behind. "How'd you do that?"

"Long story" Willow shrugged. "Short version is I absorbed a whole lot of dark magic, flayed a guy, and tried to destroy the World."

"Whoa" said Faith in disbelief. "And people are afraid of me?"

"People don't know you" Tara smiled, emerging from behind the sleigh. "People _do _know that the guy Willow flayed shot me."

"Then may he rest in pieces" said Faith seriously.

Tara laughed, pulling her friend into a hug.

"Welcome home."

"Oh my God!" cried Jonathan as he ran over with Andrew, who was still holding Lily. "Is everyone okay?"

"We're fine, guys" Willow smiled.

Lily giggled, reaching out to grab Faith's Santa hat from the top of her head.

"Hey" Faith chuckled, taking the baby from Andrew at Tara's approving nod. "You're the little scamp who stole my ribbon."

"Lily" said Tara.

"That's a nice name" Faith tickled the baby's stomach, making her giggle.

"Okay, what's going on here?"

The group turned to see a very stern looking Xander watching them. The other Scoobs were watching too, various degrees of shock on their faces.

Faith handed Lily to Tara and sighed. It was time to face the music.

"You caught me, Officer" she said as she walked over to Xander. "I'm the Dark Slayer who stole Christmas. I didn't know what it meant then, but now I do, so.." The Dark Slayer sighed again. "I know it doesn't change anythin', but I'm sorry." She bowed her head and held out her arms, waiting to be cuffed. She waited. And waited. No cuffs. She looked up.

Xander was smirking.

"Aren't you gonna arrest me?" asked Faith, confused. "Chuck me in the Pokey? Blind me with pepper spray?"

"You heard her, she confessed to the whole crime!" yelled Riley as he angrily approached with Graham, making both Willow and Tara roll their eyes. The Mayor of Scoobville stood beside Xander, arms crossed and grinning in victory, thinking he finally had the Dark Slayer beat. "Personally, I'd go for the pepper spray."

"I heard her" Xander nodded slowly, his smirk growing into a full smile, "She said she's sorry. And besides" he patted the sack, "Everything seems to be here."

"What?" cried Riley in disbelief. "But she stole from us! She committed a crime, and that crime needs to be punished!"

"Actually" said Willow, snatching the Book Of Scoob from Graham and flipping through before reciting a passage, "The Book Of Scoob says, 'Any crime can be forgiven, of course, as long as the perpetrator shows some remorse'." She shut the book, smirking. "Wasn't that what you told me?"

"Um, well, that was a very different case, and.." He looked around esperately for some support, finding none. "Buffy!"

At the other woman's name, Tara looked around, frowning. Where had she got to?

"Merry Christmas, Riley Finn!" Buffy cried from her position atop the sack of presents. She slid down, clutching something in her hand. "I have two things to say to you!" she marched over to the Mayor of Scoobville, frowning. "First, you have to stop letting me win the Lights Contest every year just because you're hot for me, when Tara's lights are obviously better. And second, you can have your ring back." The crowd gasped as she pushed the box into Riley's hands. "I'm sorry, but my heart belongs to someone else.." She turned and smiled softly in Faith's direction. "It's always belonged to someone else."

Faith's gaze was fixed on the ground, having been unable to meet either Buffy or Riley's eyes.

"Faith" said Tara after a moment, softly tapping her friend's shoulder. "She means you."

"What?" Faith looked up in shock.

"Buffy's heart belongs to you" Sophie grinned.

When Faith finally turned to meet Buffy's eyes, the other girl smiled and nodded.

Faith swallowed the lump in her throat.

"But.. Riley's the Mayor" Faith sighed, eyes dropping again. "I'm just a chick who's lived alone on a Mountain since she was eight years old." As she spoke, Buffy was slowly moving closer to her. "I can't give ya a new car, or a fancy engagement ring, or all the stuff you de..Mmm." Faith's words were cut off, and it took her a few moments to realise it was because she was being kissed. When she did, she decided 'Screw it', and buried her fingers in Buffy's hair, pulling her closer.

"If I wanted all that" Buffy gasped when they broke apart, "I would have married Riley. But I don't" she reached out to brush a few stray hairs out of Faith's face. "I want you. Just you."

"It seems a little crazy to me" Faith chuckled, leaning in for another kiss, "But I'm not gonna argue." This time when they parted, Buffy rushed off towards her house.

"Wait here!" she called back. "There's something I need to show you."

Faith grinned, but when she turned to share her joy at the new development with the other creature she loved most in the world, she saw him cowering behind Tara and Sophie. And after some thought, remembered he had been there since a certain Mayor of Scoobville had arrived. And as she realised why, Faith's lips twisted into a scowl, a little of the Dark Slayer rising back to the surface.

"You!" she growled. "You're the one who dumped Echo down the trash chute when he was a puppy!"

The Scoobs gasped, but Riley made no attempt to deny the accusation. In fact, he confirmed it.

"The thing was a runt" Riley shrugged. "He obviously belonged with you. The other Scoobs may forgive you, but I know what you are. A misfit freak, just like Willow, and Tara, and they're stupid ki.."

A sickening crunch was heard as Faith hauled off and punched Riley right in the nose.

"If you're normal, I'm proud to be a freak."

"Wha.. Xander!" Riley cried as he tried to stop the blood streaming from his nose, "Do something!"

"Forgive me if I am out of line, Officer" said Giles to Xander as he stepped out of the crowd, "But I believe dumping an innocent puppy down a trash chute constitutes Animal Cruelty, which is a crime here in Scoobville, and Mayor Riley doesn't appear to be very sorry.

"You're right" Xander grinned, clipping his cuffs onto Riley's wrists. "Riley Finn, you are under arrest on the charge of animal cruelty."

"What? But I'm the Mayor!" cried Riley in shock as Xander dragged him to the Police car. "Graham!"

"Sorry, sir" Graham frowned. "I have a dog."

Buffy returned just in time to see Riley being driven away to the Police Station.

"Uh.. Did I miss something?"

"Riley was the one who dumped Echo down the trash chute, then he called us all freaks, so I decked him" Faith explained.

"Okay then" Buffy shrugged. "Anyway.." Faith's eyes widened as she saw the item clutched in Buffy's hand. It was the Christmas Angel she had made for her as a child.

"I thought I smashed that" she gasped.

"You did, but it wasn't hard to fix" Buffy smiled. "I put it on top of my tree every year."

"But it wasn't.."

"..There this year because I had it in my handbag" said Buffy. "I was going to show you yesterday, until Riley.. Well, that doesn't matter now, does it?"

"No" Faith smiled, pulling Buffy into her arms.

* * *

><p>And so, Faith fixed the electricity, and returned everyone's presents.<p>

"Hey, Auntie Faith!" Sophie grinned, running to the former Dark Slayer's side.

"Auntie Faith, huh?"

"Mama Tara said to call you Auntie Faith now" said Sophie.

"Well, if Mama Tara says so, I guess it's okay" Faith chuckled, crouching to the little girl's eye level.

Sophie kissed her cheek.

"Wow, you're cheek's so.."

"I know" Faith sighed, "Cold.."

"No" Sophie giggled.

"Oh.. Dirty?"

"No."

"Greasy?"

"Nope."

"Stinky?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Crap. I't's a zit, isn't it?"

"No."

"Then what?" Faith frowned. "What is it?"

"Warm" Sophie smiled. Faith smiled back, giving her a hug.

Sophie giggled and took Faith's hand, leading her to where the other Scoobs were gathering around the tree.

Sophie: **_Fah Scoob for-aze, Dah Scoob dor-aze!  
><em>****_  
><em>****_Welcome Christmas, _****_Come this way!_**

The Scoobs, forming a circle around the tree, continued the song.

Scoobs: _**Fah scoob for-aze!**_

_**Dah scoob dor-aze!**_

_**Welcome Christmas, Christmas Day.**_

_**Welcome, Welcome Fah Scoob rah-moose**_

_**Welcome, Welcome Dah Scoob dah-moose  
><strong>_  
><em><strong>Christmas day is in our grasp<br>**_  
><em><strong>So long as we have hands to clasp<strong>_

Faith, with Sophie on one side and Buffy on the other, hadn't sung this song since she was eight, and was a little off on the words.

Faith: _**Fah Scoob ray-moo Yah Scoob hee-haw  
><strong>_  
><em><strong>Welcome Christmas, Bring your-<strong>_

Buffy squeezed Faith's hand, gently correcting her.

_**-Cheer!**_

Scoobs: _**Fah Scoob for-aze! Yah Scoob dor-aze!  
><strong>_  
><em><strong>Welcome all Scoobs, Far and near!<strong>_

* * *

><p>As everyone agreed that this was a special Christmas, all the Scoobs put their tables together and shared Christmas lunch in the town square.<p>

_So she brought back the toys,_

_And the food for the feast,_

_And she,_

_She herself,_

_Faith,_

_Carved the roast beast._

"Who wants the gizzard?" Faith called over the table.

"I do!" yelled Spike.

"Too late, I called dibs!" Faith grinned.

Buffy playfully slapped her arm.

Sophie giggled.

_Welcome Christmas,_

_Bring your cheer._

_Cheer to all Scoobs far and near.  
><em>  
><em>Christmas Day is in our grasp so long as we have hands to clasp<em>

_Christmas day will always be just as long as we have we._

_Welcome Christmas while we stand, heart to heart and hand to hand._

* * *

><p>"So, Buffy became the new Mayor of Scoobville, and gave Willow Graham's job. And after a while Buffy and Faith got married and popped out a kid and everyone lived happily ever after."<p>

"Kids" said Sophie.

"Kid. One, years from now."

"Nup" Sophie held up two fingers, then jumped from Faith's lap and ran upstairs to play with Lily, who was just waking up from a nap. "Thanks for the story, Auntie Faith!"

Faith blinked, then leapt up and ran after her.

"Little Red, come back here! What's with the two fingers? Little Red!"


End file.
